


Dragon Ball: A Tale Of Two Brothers

by Danielmcfilms



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brothers, F/M, Goku is called Kakarot, Good Guy Raditz, Son Gohan Sr. is alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-04-19 15:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21909826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danielmcfilms/pseuds/Danielmcfilms
Summary: Sent away for his own protection to some backwoods planet along with his brother, Kakarot, Raditz expected to stay hidden for his whole life. He never expected a blue-haired stranger to show him a world full of excitement and adventure. Exciting for him and Kakarot at least
Relationships: Bulma Briefs & Raditz, Bulma Briefs & Son Gohan Sr, Bulma Briefs & Son Goku, Bulma Briefs/Yamcha, Chi-Chi & Raditz, Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Master Roshi & Son Gohan Sr., Raditz & Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Son Gohan Sr & Son Goku, Son Gohan Sr. & Ox King, Son Gohan Sr. & Raditz
Comments: 16
Kudos: 54
Collections: My Dragonball Favs





	1. Kakarot and Raditz

“Watch where that thing falls, Kakarot! It damn near hit me!”

“Sorry, Raditz. At least it didn’t actually hit you.” Two boys could be seen arguing at each other as they stood over a fallen tree. The taller and older one, Raditz, had long black hair that came down to his waist. He towered over the other despite being only four years older than him and wore a red gi with blue wristbands. The shorter boy, Kakarot, had much shorter, spiky hair with dark eyes that matched his hair. He wore a purple gi, red wristbands, and carried a wooden bo staff strapped to his back. Both boys had small monkey tail sprouting from right above their butts; Raditz’s tail was wrapped around his waist while Kakarot had his tail hanging loosely behind him. Raditz hefted the tree onto his shoulders before turning back to his brother.

“I don’t care if it hit me or not; make sure it doesn’t happen again. Now, go grab some fish while I take this to the old man.” Raditz grunted before walking off to their house.

X

Kakarot was humming to himself as he draped a fish that was almost three times larger than him over his shoulder. The Saiyan was nearly bitten in the tail trying to capture his prey with the appendage. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to fish with his tail, but he had nothing else to fish with and it wasn’t like Raditz would ask, and he didn’t plan on telling him anything about it. Kakarot turned his head as he heard a strange noise coming from the distance; it sounded like some kind of weird wolf mixed with a mountain lion. Kakarot gave a small jolt of surprise when he saw that the source of the strange noise was some kind of monster. It’s silver skin shining in the sunlight as the beast rushed towards Kakarot until with a screech it stopped suddenly at his feet, its name was tattooed across its side: Turbo.

“Hey! That’s dangerous!” Turbo yelled out. 

“You’re after my catch, aren’t you?! Well, you can’t have it!” Kakarot yelled, dropping his fish and picking up Turbo before it could react and tossing it to the side. Kakarot proceeded to pull out the Nyoibo from its sheath and pointed it at the beast, only to be surprised when a fairy came crawling out of the side of the now-dead Turbo. “Wow, I made it barf you up, that’s cool.”

“You little brat!” The fairy yelled and Kakarot saw the fairy make a motion with its hands before feeling sharp stings all over his body and falling down as gravity took hold of him. 

“Ki blasts? Well, they’re too weak to work on me.” The Saiyan cried, jumping up and coming to the only logical reason that his mind could think of. It was strange that he couldn’t see it, but maybe it was a special type of ki. Kakarot tossed away the Nyoibo and raised his fist. He quickly gathered his own ki, then fired it at the fairy who jumped out of Turbo’s mouth before the ki ball hit it. Kakarot waited for the fairy to give up at his superior power but instead watched as it picked up a stick and swung it at him. He dodged the attacks with ease before grabbing the branch and crushing it in his hand. “Fairies have a weird way of showing thanks.” Kakarot growled.

“I’m not a fairy, I’m a girl!” The girl screamed at him.

“A girl? Oh, Grandpa and Raditz told me about them.” Kakarot said and lowered his guard. Now that he wasn’t attacking and could see clearly he realized that the girl did look different then Raditz or his Grandpa, with a body that didn’t have the same hardness as Raditz and his Grandpa along with blue eyes and lavender hair that was tied up in a ponytail. “Grandpa said I should treat them nicely and with respect.” The Saiyan extended his hand to the girl. “My name is Kakarot.”

“B-Bulma.” The girl stuttered as she took the Saiyans hand.

“No, it’s Kakarot, not Bloomers.”

“No, my name is Bulma.” Bulma retracted her hand and both people stared at each other for a bit before Kakarot cleared his throat.

“So do all girls have butts on their chest?”

“Do you not know what breasts are?” 

“You’re the only girl and the second human I’ve ever seen.” Kakarot stated. He hefted his fish back onto his shoulder and said, “I’ll take you to see Grandpa and Raditz. We’re having fish tonight.” Kakarot then began heading back toward home again, Bulma following closely behind.

X

“Gohan!” Raditz yelled, snapping the old man out of his daydream. Gohan was shorter than Raditz, coming closer to Kakarot’s height, with a white bushy mustache and weathered features on his face due to his ever-increasing years. “You’re supposed to be checking my form.”

“Right, let me check.” Gohan proceeded to walk around the Saiyan and checked his stance. “Look forward and straighten your back.” Raditz groaned, but complied nonetheless. This continued on for a few more minutes before a distraction caught both their attentions. Along the dirt trail leading to the house was Kakarot, with a girl.

“Hi, Raditz! Hi Grandpa! I found a friend.” The boy called out. “Her name’s Bloomers.” Raditz tried to stifle his need to laugh with his hand, but ultimately failed, bursting out into loud laughter.

“It’s Bulma!” The girl screeched.

“Fucking Bloomers.” The older Saiyan yelled out between breaths. Meanwhile, Bulma just kept getting redder and redder, and Gohan, being the smart man he was, walked up to the girl and gently offered her some tea while she explained what had led her to their forest home. Once inside, and once Raditz had calmed down, Gohan started to get to work making dinner out of the large fish Kakarot brought home. Kakarot had immediately started to show Bulma around the house. When they had reached the living room the girl started to scream again.

“The Dragon Ball! There it is, just like on the radar!” Bulma screamed as she hovered over Gohan’s lucky orb.

X

It turned out that the golden ball that Gohan had found in the woods was part of a magical wish-granting set; needless to say, all parties were interested. So interested that he had to send Kakarot and Raditz out for a bit, knowing them they were sparring.

“So, what are you going to wish for?” Gohan asked. “You’re obviously collecting them for a reason.”

“Well, at first I was going to get a never-ending strawberry patch,” Gohan could already see several problems with that wish, “but now I’m going to wish for the perfect boyfriend.”

“Really? That’s certainly not the most diabolical wish.” Gohan stated as he tossed the Dragon Ball between his hands. “But how can I tell if you’re telling the truth? The last guy who wished upon the Dragon Balls became king; if you wish upon them then something even worse could happen. Hell, even the wish for a perfect boyfriend could go wrong if not worded correctly.”

“What’s the big deal?! It’s not like you’re using it for anything!” Bulma screamed at him. Gohan realized this girl screamed a lot. The girl looked crestfallen for a moment before she smiled slyly. “I know what you want.” She said before lifting up her skirt and exposing her white laced panties. 

“Why would I want to touch your dirty butt?”

“My butt is beautiful, you dirty old man!”

“But it’s underaged, and brunettes are more my style.” Gohan said; as soon as he finished, however, an idea came into his head. “However, if you let me, Kakarot, or Raditz carry the Dragon Ball, I’ll let you make the wish as long as you follow my wording.”

The teenage girl clearly sensed she had no say in the matter as she signed before agreeing to his terms.

“But you better not try anything funny.”

“Right, let me get Kakarot and Raditz.” Gohan exited the house with the Dragon Ball in his pocket, just in case.

X

“I don’t suppose any of you can drive?” Bulma said once everyone had gathered their things and met in the front yard. In response to this, the Saiyans began to float in mid-air and snickered when Bulma’s surprise became visible. “Guess that answers it.” She gulped down, next grabbing a small case from her pocket and searched for a bit before pulling out a small cylinder. “Well for those of us who can’t fly.” Raditz heard a small click before Bulma tossed the cylinder to the ground. The device exploded in a puff of smoke, and once it cleared a bike stood in its place.

“You are a fairy!” Kakarot yelled out when he saw the display.

“What are you talking about?” Raditz responded.

“She’s a fairy. She used her fairy magic to make that thing and hide her ki blast.” Raditz quirked his eyebrow at that, Bulma never shown any affinity for ki manipulation. The older Saiyan turned and looked down at the blue-haired human under him. It was obvious that Bulma wasn’t a fairy nor had any form of ki manipulation.

“And you’re an idiot. Its technology, albeit more advanced than what you’ve seen. So I guess that makes it close to magic.”

Since only Raditz and Kakarot could fly, Gohan volunteered to ride with Bulma.

X

Eventually, the group had to come to a stop when Bulma announced she had to go pee, the girl walked off and told the group to wait.

So the two Saiyans sparred while they waited when they heard a sudden, ear-piercing scream. Kakarot and Raditz abandoned their sparring match and rushed over to the source of the noise, where they saw Bulma, wrapped up in a pterodactyl's tail, flying away; this prompted the two brothers to turn to each other and begin playing janken.

“Tie! Tie! Tie! Tie! Tie!” The brothers yelled out before Kakarot beat his brother by covering Raditz’s rock with his paper.

“Damn it! Fine, but I’ll get the next one.”

“Okay!” Kakarot said before taking off towards the dinosaur. The pterodactyl had put a considerable distance between them, and was only visible as a tiny speck in the sky, which would have been a problem if the Saiyan boy couldn’t fly or sense ki by now. It only took a minute before the Saiyan had caught up with the prehistoric bird and Bulma. “Hiya!”

“What? A friend of yours, I assume.” The dinosaur said to Bulma.

“Help me, Kakarot!”

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Kakarot said before pulling his bo staff from its sheath. “Nyoibu, extend!” The stick grew in length as Kakarot cracked it along the neck of the dinosaur. Kakarot could hear it’s neck break as the tail holding Bulma released and gravity took hold of the girl. Kakarot managed to grab her by the leg before she got very far, and made sure she was set down gently.

“Thanks.” Bulma said. “why didn’t you use the exploady ball?”

“I can’t fly and shoot ki at the same time, Raditz says it’s because I’m so weak that my body can’t handle it.” Kakarot turned to dinosaur, grabbed it, and started to walk back the way he came from, the drag from the creature making a small ditch. “Come on.”


	2. The Turtle Hermit

Bulma giggled as she watched Raditz and Kakarot look around in wonder inside the newly constructed home that had emerged from one of her hoi-poi capsules. It surprised Bulma that anyone would go without power willingly, and yet there were three living examples in her house right now, although there was that sneaking suspicion that two of those three were cult babies. Brushing the thought from her mind Bulma picked up the remote and absentmindedly turned her TV on. Kakarot jumped in surprise when the screen flickered on; pulling out his Nyoibo and gently tapping it against the screen.

“There’s a tiny man in there.” Kakarot stated, causing Raditz and Gohan to turn from their conversation in the kitchen to look at what the boy was talking about.

“A TV? It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these, never saw the need for them.” Gohan stated while Raditz walked over to the television and began to inspect it along with his brother. Bulma leaned in to tell them what the TV was, grinning the entire time, but stopped when she smelled the stench of dirt, sweat, and blood surrounding the two.

“When was the last time you two had a bath?”

“A… Week ago? Maybe more.” Raditz mumbled out. “Too much of a hassle to take one every day, and Saiyans were never big on baths to begin with.”

“Well you’re getting one before any of you eat anything.” Bulma said before grabbing Kakarot and dragging him to the bathroom. A few minutes later, the water was drawn and the boy’s clothes were placed in a basket. Signalling Kakarot over, Bulma got to work with plenty of yelling, bathing him until she got to his back and realized his tail was there. Bulma attempted to pull it off only for Kakarot to give out a cry of pain before snatching the brush from her with his tail and started to scrub himself with it.

“Grandpa lets me wash my own butt,” Kakarot gumbled out, oblivious to Bulma’s internal panic. Humans didn’t have tails; sure some species of anthropomorphs had them, but humans didn’t! Bulma ran out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, and was about to try to calm down when Raditz walked up to her.

“What did he do now?” Raditz asked. Bulma was about to respond when her traitorous eyes drifted downward to his waist.

The waist that had a tail acting as a belt. Naturally, being the calm and a genius girl with a one-fifty IQ Bulma prided herself on being, she screamed and ran out the door as fast as her legs could carry her.

X

Bulma was sitting down on a rock, still in shock, when both Gohan and Raditz came outside of the house. The girl shied away slightly as the latter stalked off to the forest.

“There’s no meat for supper, so Raditz’s going hunting for some.” Gohan stated as he took a seat next to Bulma. “Been a while since I used an electric stove.”

“You really are a country bumkin.” Bulma stated. “You don’t have a tail, do you?” Gohan let out a dry chuckle at this.

“No, that’s just Raditz and Kakarot.”

“Right.” The two sat there in silence, save for the occasional buzzing of some bug in the background, until the silhouette of Raditz came into view.

“I’m back!” The elder Saiyan called out with three wolves grasped in his hands. 

“That was fast.” Gohan stated as he got up from his seat. 

“They were eating what I think was a deer, so I got the drop on them.” Raditz said. Now that he was closer and was talking Bulma could see that a dark drizzle ran down the boy’s throat and up into his teeth… Was that blood?

Bulma just sat back and shook her head as she watched Raditz and Gohan walked off to the forest and come back with a bundle of wood each. As the two started to roast the wolves, Bulma took a deep breath and calmed herself down by reminding herself that she had seen stranger.

X

“Yay, bedtime!” Kakarot’s voice carried throughout the small capsule house. The young Saiyan, now dressed only in a pink shirt that was much too large for him, bounced on the only bed that was present in the house before Bulma picked him up and dropped him on the floor. Raditz and Gohan had taken his gi to wash, so Bulma had given him one of her own “My bed; you three get the floor.” 

“Why?”

“Because I’m a girl.”

“So?”

“… Just get on the floor.” Kakarot followed this command, and started wrapping himself up in blankets. “So, did your parents die?” Bulma suddenly asked. Kakarot stopped what he was doing and thought about this for a bit and turned to her.

“I don’t know. I know me and Raditz were sent here when I was three, and that Grandpa found us a while after we came here. But I don’t remember much about our parents.” He said with an ear-splitting grin on his features.

“You can sure talk about that dark stuff cheerfully.”

X

“Yeah, Kakarot excels at making light of a situation,” Raditz stated as he and Gohan walked through the door with the laundry in their hands. Raditz tossed Bulma a torn shirt and a pair of shorts.

“These are torn!”

“It itched too much.”

“Apologize.” Gohan warned. “Kakarot, get out of the girl's clothes and change.” Gohan proceeded to toss Kakarot’s regular gi to him, the Saiyan then proceeded to strip down and change.

“What are you doing?!” Bulma screamed and buried her face in a pillow.

“Changing.” Kakarot responded as he was already in the process of putting his shirt over his head. “Done.”

“Next time, do it in the bathroom.” Gohan stated before turning onto Raditz “Raditz, why haven’t you apologized?”

“… I’m sorry.” Raditz mumbled out.

“For what?”

“For destroying your clothes.”

“Don’t ever touch my clothes again.” Bulma groaned and wiggled her fingers through the holes in her shirt. “This was Pucci.” She moaned as Kakarot handed Bulma’s clothes back to her.

X

“Still? If you were any slower, you’d turn into a turtle.” Kakarot moaned in front of the bathroom door.

“Can it about the turtles already.” Bulma’s voice responded on the other side of the door. “Truth is, you just wake up too early. And stop calling me ‘you;’ My name is Bulma.” Bulma finally came out once the blue-haired girl finished complaining. “What do you even need the bathroom for? You’re a boy.”

“Raditz is still mad at me for waking everyone up, so he won’t talk to me. Grandpa’s meditating, and told me to let him focus. You’re the only one not doing anything, and I want to talk to someone.”

“And explain to me what we would talk about. I can’t imagine there are many things we have in common.” Bulma said as she exited the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

“Maybe we can talk about that.”

“… I need caffeine.” Bulma mumbled to herself and walked off to the kitchen.

Sensing Bulma was finished with the conversation, Kakarot ran outside to train for a bit, grabbing his Nyoibo on the way out. Once out there, he ran to the nearest boulder; Kakarot took a deep breath before surrounding himself with a thin layer of ki, and starting to float. Raising a hand towards one of the rocks outcropping the area and attempted to gather ki in his hand before falling gently down to the ground again. The young Saiyan growled to himself before trying the same process for thirty more minutes with no new results. 

X

“Want pointers?” Raditz said from the doorway.

“I thought I was “too weak”,” Kakarot bitterly said, upset at his failure to fly and shoot ki at the same time. “And that you didn’t want to talk to me.”

“In all fairness, you did wake us up thinking that you were somehow getting killed.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Raditz said and walked down to where his brother stood. 

“Sorry.”

“… What did I just say?” Raditz groaned as he started to hover in place. “Now, close your eyes.” Kakarot complied and cut off his vision. “Now sense me. Feel my energy, my ki.” The younger Saiyan began to concentrate with his brother coaching him through the process of pinpointing it. After about two minutes, Raditz’s ki came into Kakarot’s “view”, Chaotic and swirling around the elder Saiyan, full of anger and… sadness? Around Raditz a thin layer of calm existed; a small portion of his vast reserves that kept him afloat. Kakarot watched as Raditz’s ki raised a hand and was surprised when the layer disappeared and was replaced with a glowing ball. Kakarot opened his eyes just in time to see the ki ball shoot towards the rock he was trying to destroy earlier.

“How are you doing that?” Kakarot asked in wonder.

“When you fly you are using energy to keep yourself up, in your case, when you try to fire off a ki blast you are using what’s keeping you up; with nothing keeping you up, you fall.” Raditz explained as he came back down to the ground.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“You need to have better energy reserves.”

“Thanks, Raditz.” Kakarot floated up and proceeded to wrap his arms around his brother's waist.

“… Thank me by not trying it until you’re stronger and have better energy reserves. I was just tired of watching you fail.” Raditz repeated his previous statement, and unbeknownst to Kakarot a pink tinge was present on the older Saiyans face. “Right, so we should spar to get you stronger; go crush about five rocks for a warm-up.”

X

“Okay!” Kakarot said as he released his grip on Raditz and ran off to the nearest rock and crushed it in his hands. Kakarot then turned his attention to the next rock and started to repeat the process only for him to pull out a… turtle? The turtle craned its neck backwards to face the Saiyan. For a few seconds, no one made any sound or movement as the turtle stared at the monkey-boy with fear in its eyes. Slowly, Kakarot set the turtle back down onto the ground.

“You nearly killed me!” The turtle shouted at him. Kakarot simply chuckled and placed his hand on the back of his head.

“Yeah, I didn’t though.” 

“Who shouted that?” Raditz said as he walked over to where his brother stood; doing a double-take when he saw the turtle. “Why is there a turtle out here?” 

“I don’t know.” Kakarot said right as Bulma walked out of the house.

“Why is there a turtle out here?” 

“What’s this about a turtle?” Gohan questioned as he stepped out of the capsule home and turned his head towards the turtle, his eyes widening in recognition as he took in the sea reptile. “Kame?”

X

“Gohan? That you?” Kame asked in wonderment. Gohan chuckled and walked over to his old friend and proceeded to pick him up and pulling him in close for an awkward hug.

“You know this turtle, old man?” Raditz asked.

“He’s the pet of my old master.” Gohan answered before turning back to the turtle. “What are you doing out here?” 

“First, if one of you could fetch me saltwater, I would be happy to answer all your questions; it has been a while since I’ve had any.” Once again Gohan chuckled to himself before entering the house, coming out later with a bucket of saltwater. “Here.” Gohan stated as he placed the bucket down in front of Kame. The turtle stared at the bucket for a second before plunging headfirst and gulping the water down like a dehydrated man in the desert.

It took eight seconds for Kame to finish the water.

“Thank you very much.”

“Now if you would kindly explain why you’re here.” Gohan requested as Kame blushed in obvious embarrassment.

“Well, the truth is… I got lost.”

“Lost?” Bulma spoke up.

“Yeah, lost. I got lost… Trying to find mushrooms… About a year ago.” Kame paused and took a deep calming breath. “I’ve been trying to get back since then.”

X

“Well you’re heading in the wrong way.” Bulma stated. “Hold on, I’ll get a map.” The young girl walked back into the house. A few minutes later, Bulma came out with a map. “So if we’re here; that means the ocean is about… one-hundred and twenty kilometers to the south.”The blue-haired girl said as she pointed to a place on the map.

“One-hundred and twenty.” Kame groaned.

“Why don’t you show us where the ocean is, Kame?” Kakarot spoke up.

“We don’t have the time! It’s not nice to joke about something like that.” Bulma yelled out, placing her hands on her hips.

“You were the one in the bathroom for an hour,” Raditz stated. 

“You think it’s easy to look this beautiful?”

“Saiyans don’t have the same concept of “beauty” as humans.”

“Not my fault you’re all just a bunch of savages.”

“Either way, if Kakarot’s going, then so am I.” Raditz said.

“And I’ll never turn down a friend in need,” Gohan jumped in. Bulma felt the pressing stares on her, and in response threw her hands up into the air.

“Fine go! But I won’t be here when you all get back!” Bulma then watched as the others grabbed Kame and took off towards the ocean. The blue-haired girl steamed over the others abandonment of her for a turtle until a lone thought flashed across her mind: they still had the Dragon Ball. “I wonder if they will come back anyway.” Bulma mumbled to herself before spotting a large dinosaur off in the distance. Deciding it was better for her wellbeing to get back to the group, Bulma pulled out her motorbike and set the house back into its capsule form. She then followed along the trail that the others had ran down before catching up with the group.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t see us again.” said Kakarot, now carrying the turtle on his back.

“Shut up, you’re not cute.” Bulma snapped at him and proceeded to ride in silence… Until they came face-to-face with a giant bear-like creature with red fur that was stylized into a mohawk on the top of its head. He wore an intricate armor set resembling a samurai's, and wielded a scimitar as large as Raditz.

“Alright, humans, I’ll cut you a deal: give me the turtle, and I won’t kill anyone. I know a way to saute it that’s to die for.” The beast growled menacingly. Bulma was sorely tempted to try handing the turtle over to the monster; she probably would’ve if Raditz hadn’t taken a step forward.

“Oh good, I was getting bored. Try and make this interesting,” The long-haired boy said rather cockily. Bulma sensed a fight, and, wanting no chance of getting caught in the crossfire, turned tail as the monster swung his oversized blade down.

X

Raditz simply watched the sword swing down toward him before stopping it with his bare hand. The Saiyan then proceeded to twist the bear-man's arm, flinging the weapon out of his grasp. The bear-man stood there with his mouth open, clearly surprised that someone just  _ caught his sword _ , before snapping it shut and swinging his large fist towards the Saiyan. Immediately it became clear to Raditz that the bandit had no formal training, or any at all, and relied on his intimidating size to scare people into giving him what he wanted. Deciding that he had had enough, Raditz watched in slow motion as he filled his body with ki the Saiyan then rushed forward and kicked the bear-man in the stomach and sent him flying, Raditz then chose to follow up by speeding behind the bear-man and performing a dropkick. The Saiyan dropped back down to the ground and looked at the unconscious form of the bandit.

“I said to try.” Raditz saw the bright blue eyes of Bulma hiding behind a rock peering at him. “It’s done!” he shouted at them, the girl came out from her hiding place and got back on her bike as the rest of the group started back on their trip to the ocean.

X

“We did it! We made it to the sea!” Kame cheered

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Bulma popped off her bike as she watched the turtle crawl into the sea.

“Tell Roshi I said ‘hi’.” Gohan told to Kame, the turtle then turned his head back towards the group and spoke again.

“Tell him yourself when I bring him!” With that, the turtle swam off into the horizon and left the group alone. Bulma watched as her companions sat down on the beachside; sensing that she had no choice but to stay here with them, she pulled up her dress and took a seat in the tide beside Kakarot.

“If I had known we were gonna stay, I would’ve brought my swimsuit.” The blue-haired girl mumbled to herself, pulling out the house capsule and considering opening it just to grab her swimwear. Kakarot looked up to her before looking back to the ocean and snickering. “What are you laughing at?” Bulma growled.

“There wouldn’t be enough time to swim ‘cause Kame’s back.” Kakarot said pointing at the empty horizon. Bulma looked over to the ocean and saw that the turtle was indeed there… But what was that on his back? 

“He’s got someone with him.” Raditz stated as Kame arrived on the beach. Now that the turtle was closer Bulma could see who the turtle was carrying. The old man was around Gohan’s height with an equally long mustache but with a beard and sunglasses attached to his otherwise bald face, an orange sun shirt covered in letters hung off his thing frame and barely covered his shorts with a turtle shell strapped to his back.

X

“Hello.” The old man said before jumping onto the beach. “Thanks for helping my turtle.”

“No problem, Master Roshi.” Gohan said.

“Well if it isn’t little Gohan.” Roshi said in recognition, and with a small smirk on his face joked. “You’ve grown old.”

“You’re one to talk. What are you, three hundred by now?”

“… Good job remembering.”

“Who are you, old man?” Kakarot interrupted as he and Raditz ran up to their Grandpa.

“I am Master Muten Roshi, The Turtle Hermit.” Roshi stated before walking up to the trio. “Now as I understand it, you saved Kame; that deserves a reward.” The Turtle Hermit then turned towards the sea and raised his arms before letting out a mighty cry. “Come forth Eternal Phoenix!” Kakarot waited for something to appear, only for nothing to happen.

“It choked on its dinner.” Kame explained to Master Roshi.

“Oh yeah, well there goes  _ that _ idea… What about the Eternal Unicorn?”

“Poachers. Have any of that magic pie that goat lady gave you?”

“Finished it off this morning, I’ll need to go shopping soon. Well, it’s not like I use it anymore…” Roshi signed and turned back to the ocean. “Kinto’un! I summon thee!” Almost immediately a cartoonish sputtering whirl could be heard as a golden cloud came into existence. The group watched as the cloud came and stopped at the edge of Roshi’s feet. “This is a Kinto’un, with it you’ll be able to fly anywhere in the world.”

“What does a Turtle Hermit need with a cloud?” Bulma asked in confusion.

“Don’t ask questions.” Roshi responded before turning to the group. “Now let me show you how it works.” The hermit then turned towards the golden cloud and attempted to jump through it.

And passed right through it and turned the magic cloud into a murky brown. “Oh Kami, my back!” The hermit cried out in pain and tried to get off his back, but was unable to until Gohan and Kame helped him back up due to the comically large turtle shell. Kakarot decided that trying the Kinto’un cloud could be fun despite being able to fly on his own, and walked over to the cloud as Raditz and Bulma burst out in loud cackles. The small Saiyan bent his knees and jumped, landing on the Kinto’un before taking off like a rocket into the sky.

X

“Well, she seems to like him.” Gohan said pointing to the now flying Kinto’un. 

“Damn thing must be broken,” Roshi stated, casting a glare at the nimbus-like cloud. “I could ride it one-hundred years ago.”

“Right, very interesting geezer, but what about me? What do I get?” Bulma stated rather rudely. 

“Nothin’ with that attitude.” Gohan muttered under his breath while Roshi asked Kame if the blue-haired girl had helped.

“Not at all,” was the turtle’s all too cheerful answer. This answer caused Bulma to screech about the saltwater she had provided, as well as the directions for getting to the beach.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m the only reason you’re not dead!”

“But Gohan was the one who gave me the saltwater.”

“And it was I who provided it!” Gohan figured he was going to go deaf soon with how much screaming Bulma did.

“Either way, Master Roshi only has one, so figure something else out.” Gohan stated before noticing a golden glimmer around his master’s neck, one that looked uncannily similar to a certain keepsake the younger man had. “Master, may I see that necklace?” Gohan asked and outstretched his hand. Roshi complied and placed a golden ball with three stars on it in Gohan’s hand, who showed it to Bulma. “This is what we’re searching for, right?”

“Really? That’s one hell of a coincidence.” Bulma remarked.

“Don’t you have a radar for finding these, you should’ve figured it out on your own.” Raditz responded. 

“Now hold on now, why should I give you anything?” Roshi said, pointing an accusing finger towards Bulma. “You didn’t help my turtle at all, according to two reliable sources. Still, perhaps I can be  _ persuaded _ to gift you this bauble.” The finger turned away from Bulma towards the hermit's chin and his face turned into a lecherous smile. “If you show me your panties.” 

“How did you ever ride the Kinto’un?” Gohan asked, remembering what he and Ox had to do to get Roshi to train him.

The hell does finding a pretty girl have to do with martial arts?

“If that’s all,” Bulma said with a small blush surprising Gohan before pulling up her dress to reveal her bare… Gohan quickly turned away.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Raditz started. “But panties are female undergarments right?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are yours invisible?”

“They aren’t, Raditz; she doesn’t have any.” Gohan informed his grandson, his voice much more strained than before.

“Wait, what?!” Bulma screamed, a second later Gohan heard a loud smack followed by Bulma screaming “Pervert!” and repeating the process with who he assumed to be Raditz. “You can look now.” Gohan turned around to find his old master on the ground and Raditz staring down at Bulma with a red hand-shaped mark on his cheek. Bulma stood there, Dragon Ball now in hand, with her arms crossed. “Kakarot! Let’s go, we’re leaving!” Realization flashed across Raditz’s face at hearing his brother's name, and the Saiyan raised his ki as far as it would go before crying out a single word.

“Kakarot!" ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I feel as if one of my biggest weaknesses is writing out scenes where characters sit around and just talk, it’s the main reason this took so long. I also want to thank my editor for helping me make this project the best it can be.


	3. Yamcha the Bandit

“Y’all sure you don’t want any?” Raditz asked as he presented a torn piece of pork to Bulma; to the right of him was Kakarot stuffing his face with a similar piece.

“No thanks, I make a point to not eat anything that could talk.” Bulma muttered in disgust as her face turning green before shaking her head and turning her attention back to steering the speedboat the group was currently in.

“Your loss.”

“I’ve got the Dragon Ball, so I win in the end.” Bulma said triumphantly; said ball was found in a village that had a problem with a shapeshifting pig that was dealt with in exchange for the Dragon Ball.

Raditz made sure the piggy wouldn’t be bothering anyone anymore.

“Speakin’ of Dragon Balls, are we there yet?” Kakarot groaned, his mouth still full.

“You’re wasting food; close your mouth.” Raditz snapped at his brother.

“We’re about three days away from Fry-Pan mountain.” Bulma said as she took her eyes off the lake for a moment, checking one of her maps.

“That sounds somewhat familiar.” Raditz mumbled before looking towards the napping Gohan. “Should I ask him?”

“I think Grandpa mentioned somethin’ ‘bout a friend being there, some kind of king?” Kakarot responded.

“Well, that makes things easier.”

“Yep.” Kakarot said, accentuating the p before the boat sputtered to a stop. 

“Why’d we stop?” Gohan murmured, the stop waking him from his slumber

“We’re out of gas.” Bulma groaned out as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Don’t suppose one of you can breathe underwater or fly the boat across?”

“I’ve got a better idea. Got any rope?” Raditz said, extending his hand for the rope. After some rummaging through her capsule collection, Bulma eventually found some rope and handed it to the long-haired boy. Raditz wrapped the rope around his chest and arms in a makeshift harness then jumped in the water, and, before anyone could ask what he was doing, took off like a torpedo towards the shore. A minute later Raditz was trying the rope to the boat and around a nearby tree while Bulma heaved into a nearby bush.

“Why… Didn’t you… Warn us?”

“Didn’t want to.” Bulma flipped off Raditz before checking her pockets for her capsule case, only to freak out when she couldn’t find it.

“I must have lost it… In the river…” Bulma muttered as she turned on Raditz and started to scream at him. “You lost it, find it!”

“Should have held on to it.”

“You should’ve warned us!”

“You’re the only one complaining!” Raditz screamed back before taking a calming breath and resuming the conversation. “Look even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. They would be at the bottom of the lake, and unlike a Mizunian*, I don’t have gills.” 

“Sucks that Oolong’s dead, he could’ve turned into something like one of those car things.” Kakarot stated, causing Bulma to wail out in disappear. “I guess we’ll just have to walk.”

X

Raditz looked on in amusement at Bulma as the blue-haired girl panted and limped dramatically as they made their way through the desert.

“I’m going to die.” Bulma groaned.

“Relax dear, so long as you stay hydrated you’ll be fine.” Gohan responded on top of the Kinto’un.

“Easy for you to say, you have the cloud.”

“I’m old and no longer have the stamina I once had.”

“Is there really no way to get to Fry-Pan Mountain?”

“Gyuu-Maou never liked bein’ disturbed.” Gohan stated wryly. Bulma at hearing this had apparently decided that she had enough and flopped down on to the sand.

“I’m done. I am not moving anymore. that is it for today.”

“How pathetic.” Raditz said. He still felt he could go for another few hours, but, remembering how frail Humans were, still sat down himself. 

“Pathetic!? I’ll tell you what’s pathetic; what’s pathetic is that we are stranded out here with no capsules, no food, no water, and no shelter! That is pathetic!” Bulma started to scream at Raditz, and got up in his face. Several violent thoughts went through Raditz’s head as he recalled that this was the second time someone had gotten in his face today, and it was only by him clawing at his skin and tail that he didn’t punch Bulma through the mountain. Raditz was about to tell Bulma to get out of his face when she fell on top of him, asleep. “… Well then.” The Saiyan muttered as he gently set Bulma down in the shade under a rock.

“Don’t suppose you have any more pork, Raditz?” Kakarot asked.

“I have a small handful I’ve been saving for emergencies. Let me guess; you finished your share and are coming after mine.” Raditz stated rather than asked. Kakarot simply chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

X

Unbeknownst to the group, a flying blue-furred cat-like creature was watching the group through a handheld telescope. Collapsing the telescope and heading back into the cave he was observing from, the cat floated up to a teenage boy with long shaggy hair that came to his shoulders; the boy wore dark-green shirt spouted the kanji for “easy,” an orange handkerchief wrapped around his neckline, equally orange pants, and blue combat boots. 

“Yamcha! I found a group of sitting ducks!” The cat creature yelled, to which Yamcha simply looked up from his meal, wiping the crumbs from his mouth before smirking.

“Just as I thought it was getting boring out here, finally some fresh prey. Prepare the Jet-Squirrel, Puar.”

“Yes, sir!” Puar squeaked and ran off. Yamcha got up from his table to grab a curved ornate sword on a table, and strapped it to his waist before walking outside to hop on the floating scooter; the pair then took off towards where his partner had seen the group of “ducks.”

X

“Come on!” Kakarot begged his brother for the tenth time in the last minute; the reason for the begging was simple: Kakarot wanted to eat the last of Raditz’ pork since Kakarot had eaten all of his.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No! You should’ve saved yours.”

“I was hungry.”

“If you’re hungry then you should get some food yourself.” Gohan stated. He climbed off of the Kinto’un and settled in the shade next to the still sleeping Bulma before falling asleep himself. Kakarot saw sense with this, and turned to run off to grab some food when Raditz pointed out something rapidly approaching. Kakarot turned back in time to see a guy and miniature blue tiger float up to the group in a floating bike, stopping only once the two had gotten close to the group. 

“Who are you?” 

“I am Yamcha; this is my partner-in-crime, Puar.” The boy said, pointing to himself and the tiger respectively.

“I’m Kakarot.”

“… Right, now I have a code against children to not hurt them unless provoked. So just hand over any capsules and/or money you have and you won’t provoke me.” Yamcha said, holding his outstretched hand. Raditz let out a loud snort at hearing this, which he did try to hide in his defense. “Something funny, hedgehog?”

“I could say the same to you.” Raditz said.

“I see… You two just must want to go to heaven then.” Yamcha said, drawing his sword. Raditz once again laughed at Yamcha before getting in a combat stance.

“I realized I’m going to hell a long time ago.”

“Hey! It’s my turn!” Kakarot yelled out and caused both teens to look at him. “You fought the bear guy and killed Oolong.” The younger Saiyan pouted. Raditz dropped out of his stance and chuckled slightly.

“Right. Go ahead.” 

X

Kakarot got into his own pose with a smirk, motioning for Yamcha to make the next move. The bandit complied and rushed towards the boy before bringing his sword down on Kakarot’s head, only for it to pass through him. Kakarot came into Yamcha’s peripheral before kicking off the sand and launching himself towards the bandit. Yamcha barely had enough time to bring his sword up to block the kick sent his way, and retaliated with a kick of his own, actually managing to land it this time, sending the boy sprawling into the sand. Yamcha watched as Kakarot got up; he dusted himself off before calmly pulling out a bo staff from his back, and got into another stance.

“You done?”

“Yep.”

“Alright.” Yamcha said before launching himself once again towards the boy and bringing the sword down in an overhead strike, only for it to be blocked by the staff once more. Kakarot twisted the staff and knocked the sword out of Yamcha’s, then pointed it towards the bandit before yelling out.

“Extend!” The bo caught Yamcha off-guard as it hit him squarely in his chest, sending him flying. The bandit got up clutching the newly bruised spot, now recognizing the weapon that Kakarot wielded.

“H-Hey kid, where did ya get that staff?” Yamcha questioned.

“My grandpa gave it to me as a birthday gift.” Kakarot stated, before rubbing his stomach. “I’m still hungry, can we finish this up?”

“Yeah. How ‘bout a new rule first: no weapons. I want to test the skills of the grandson of the great Gohan against the martial arts technique I’ve been working on.” Yamcha proposed, getting into the aforementioned stance, one resembling that of a wolf. With a nod of his head, Kakarot sheathed the Nyoi’bu, and got into his own stance. Not giving the kid any time to react, Yamcha rushed towards Kakarot, his hands cupped and outstretched into claws. 

“Wolf Fang Fist!” Yamcha cried out as he delivered a powerful kick to Kakarot, followed by a flurry of outstretched strikes; finally, he cupped both his hands and buried them in Kakarot’s gut. Once the final attack had landed, Kakarot went flying through several rock structures. Yamcha turned to who he had determined to be Kakarot’s brother to see him watching the fight with an expression of mild amusement on his face. “Feel like handing over those capsules now?” The long-haired boy’s smirk grew as he simply pointed in the direction where Kakarot had gone flying off. Yamcha followed Kakarot’s brother’s finger to see Kakarot standing on one of the broken rock outcrops.

“So we’re doing special techniques now? Check this one out!” The boy called out to Yamcha.

“Party Popper!” Kakarot yelled out as he tossed a multi-colored ball of ki at Yamcha. The bandit dodged out of the way just in time to dodge it, the ball exploding into multiple colorful micro-explosions where he was at.

“Hey.” Yamcha weakly said, staring at Kakarot’s brother, who’s feet he had landed at.

“Havin’ fun yet?” The dark-eyed teen said from above him, as a loud yawn passed through the air. Both teens turned towards the sounds of the noise to see a girl sit up and rub her eyes.

“Can you two spar any louder, I’m trying to… sleep.” The girl grumpily trailed off her eyes trailing to Yamcha. Now for reasons unknown to even himself, Yamcha had always had a great and terrible fear of the fairer sex, and it was now as the two stared at each other for a solid ten seconds that the fear had kicked off into high gear. Yelling to Puar about leaving Yamcha scrambled to get up and run away as fast as possible, hopping onto the Jet-Squirrel and racing away as fast as possible.

X

_ Kakarot clutched his side in pain as he fell, he didn’t know how long or how far he had already fallen, but he could tell he was falling from the wind rushing past his ears. The young Saiyan watched the light above get smaller and smaller as he heard Raditz scream his name in fear. The light got smaller and the dark got darker, making it impossible to see anything. Just as Kakarot began to wonder when he would hit the ground when a sickening crack was heard as a burning pain burst forth from his skull and everything went quiet. _

_ And dark. _

Kakarot opened his eyes feeling damp from his own sweat, the scent of his fear and blood hanging in the air. The young Saiyan rubbed the top of his head where a scare as it felt as if it had reopened for some reason. Trying to calm his breathing, Kakarot growled in frustration as he tried, and failed, to remember what the dream was about. Kakarot looked around the RV that his Grandpa had taken from Oolong’s; who had remembered he had it after rolling on it in his sleep, thankfully he didn’t activate it.

It would have been bad if he activated it.

Looking around Kakarot noticed Bulma since he was the only one she trusted while she slept for whatever reason, he briefly considered asking her if he could sleep with her for the night but remembered that she screamed at him the last time this happened. That left on Gohan or Raditz, and while Kakarot’s Grandpa gave better hugs then Raditz, Raditz smelled familiar in a way that Kakarot couldn’t explain that helped him sleep better after the nightmares. With that in mind, Kakarot trotted down the stairs to find Raditz sleeping on the couch and gently poked him awake.

X

“Wha’ is it?” Raditz asked before his eyes opened up to find Kakarot standing on the floor. “Go back to sleep and leave me alone.” The older Saiyan was about to roll over when the stale stench of fear caught his nose, Kakarot’s fear, the one smell he had committed to memory. Noticing the weaker scent of sweat clinging to his younger brother, Raditz figured out what had woken his brother. “The nightmares?” The older Saiyan asked, earning a gentle nod of Kakarot’s head. Groaning slightly before flipping himself over and presenting his hair Raditz motioned for Kakarot to enter with his tail and drifted back into sleep once again as Kakarot crawled into his hair. All were oblivious to the danger that watched the group carefully.

More specifically, their Dragon Ball ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, the fight scene with Yamcha as well as some more backstory for the resident Saiyan bro’s. So I feel as if this is a good time that my use of dub and Japanese names will differ with what I'm comfortable with at the moment, it will always be the “Spirit Bomb” for me instead of “Genki Dama” and so on and so forth. I debated adding the Kamehameha in here but realized that would strip this fic of any real reason of Raditz and Kakarot going to train with Roshi and going back to the woods when they were done with the Pilaf saga so I came up with a technique of my own, I came up with the name by thinking what would a little kid name a move and “Party Popper” sounded like something a kid would say repeatedly. Mizu is the Japanese word for water, and I couldn’t remember Frieza’s race for the life of me, so Mizunian came to being. Finally, I learned that Goku had an accent in the Japanese anime and in the manga so I’m going to start adding that in for Kakarot.


	4. Fry-Pan Inferno

A loud squeal pierced the air as the sun had just begun its peak. Immediately Raditz's eyes flashed open, and fuelled by his instincts, shoved the source of the noise against the wall. Raditz snarled as he stared into the attacker's blue eyes… Wait, blue? Releasing his grip and backing off Raditz and Bulma stared at each for a moment before the girl's face twisted in fury.

“What were you doing?!”

“What were  _ you _ doing?!” Raditz screamed back. “I could have killed you!”

“I was taking a picture of you and Kakarot.” Bulma pointed to her phone off to the side to accentuate this point. Kakarot groaned slightly in Raditz’s hair before popping up and glaring at Bulma.

“Thanks for waking me up.” The younger Saiyan dryly remarked and dropped out of his brother’s hair. “I’m hungry,” Kakarot mumbled before walking off, presumably to find food. 

“What’s his problem?” Bulma commented. 

“Kakarot gets like this whenever he has nightmares, specifically the ones from his Saiyan past.” Raditz signed. “He’ll be fine in a few hours, but it’s best to just give him space for now.”

“Should I apologize?”

“Only if you want to piss him off even more, he’s mad at you,” Raditz stated as he began to walk towards the door. “And for the love of god take a shower already.”

“I don’t have clothes to wear while I wash mine or I would,” Bulma responded. Raditz stopped and pondered this for a moment before pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the blue-haired girl. “Full circle.” He stated simply before walking out the door to train in the intense heat.

X

If Raditz had to listen to Bulma compliment Yamcha again he was going to blow something up. The Saiyan, now clothed, ignored all safety procedures and leaned beside the door as the RV wobbled on the desert sand. Kakarot was sitting up with Gohan in the driver seat, leaving the older Saiyan alone with a rambling female who seemed to only be able to focus on boys, school trouble, and random useless crap. 

“You know it’s really dangerous to be standing, especially when Gohan’s driving,” Bulma remarked.

“Pain only serves to make a Saiyan stronger.”

“Still, it would suck if you fell.” Bulma rebuked and patted the seat next to her. Raditz, not wanting to hear his female companion complain anymore decided to sit down next to Bulma, Still refusing to buckle up. “See, how’s that?”

“Like you made me move needlessly.” Raditz casted his gaze towards the window and started to watch the rock formations speed by when he caught sight of Yamcha moving beside the car in one of his own. Raditz barely had time to register that Yamcha was there before the bandit hefted a large gun towards the car and proceeded to shoot it towards the vehicle. Reacting quickly, Raditz braced for whatever was to happen next while Bulma unbuckled herself and jumped up to stare out the window. A loud explosion ripped through the air as the front half of the car exploded and Raditz and Bulma were thrown forward with Bulma passing out from the sudden impact of her head hitting the glass. “Human females are strange.” The Saiyan remarked before exiting the car.

X

Kakarot breathed out a sigh of relief as he watched Gohan groan to himself before standing up and walking over to Raditz out of the corner of his eye. The young Saiyan’s gaze hardened as he turned to where Yamcha and Puar were standing.

“Listen here you little shits! I know about the Dragon Balls, now just hand them over and I get to conserve ammo.” The bandit said, hefting a long gun and pointing it nonchalantly at Kakarot. 

“How’d ya know ‘bout ‘em?”

“Your brother talks in his sleep. Speaking of which, you gonna help out this time?” Yamcha said as he turned to the older Saiyan.

“Kakarot gets one more, this one, and then I get the next,” Raditz explained. Yamcha smirked at this before tossing his gun to Puar and getting into a combat stance.

“Good, no distractions.”

“Fine, but I should warn you that I was hungry yesterday; not that it mattered. I’m full now.” Kakarot got into his own stance before rushing towards the bandit. Yamcha jabbed his fist towards Kakarot’s head, who easily deflected it with a cry of “Paper!” The Saiyan then closed his fist except for two fingers pointed outward and thrusted them into Yamcha’s eyes. “Scissors!” Closing his two fingers, Kakarot rammed his now closed fist into the bandit’s face. “Rock!” Kakarot dropped back down to the ground as Yamcha reeled back in pain with his hand covering his face.

“Y-You bastard! I’ll get you next time!” The bandit yelled as he removed his now bloody hand away from his face, a tooth now missing and his eyes red. Turning to his partner, Yamcha gave out a cry. “Puar, let’s go!” The cat-like creature nodded his head and rushed towards Yamcha. The two bandits ran back to their car in a rush and left Kakarot wishing for a longer fight.

X

“Damnit.” Yamcha groaned out when they stopped the car after gaining enough distance from Kakarot. “This is stupid.”

“What are we gonna do now?” Puar asked, his tail swishing back and forth in nervous tension.

“Only thing we can do, change the plan.” Yamcha groaned before slapping his forehead. “Kami I’m stupid, I should’ve done this to begin with.”

“Done what?”

“We’re going to follow them and steal the Dragon Balls when they’ve gathered them all. They’re useless without all seven anyway.” Yamcha chuckled to himself before putting the car back into gear and taking off to find the group again. After a few minutes of uneventful and conversation less driving Yamcha could see his current quarry. The bandit hailed the group as he pulled up to them. “Heya!” Yamcha started. “So we felt really bad after thinking about what we have done, so we’re giving you a car-free of charge.” Yamcha tossed a capsule aside and with a pop, out came the car. Before anyone could do anything, the bandit floored the car and ran away from the group before his nerves could get to him. Once the bandit had decided that they were far enough, Yamcha pressed a button on his dashboard to reveal a small tracking radar pinpointing the location of the car that was graciously given to Kakarot and his friends. 

“And now Puar, we wait.”

X

“Can you turn on the air conditioning before I die of a heat stroke?” Bulma complained from the back seat beside a sleeping Kakarot whose head was nestled in her lap.

“It is on, I have no idea how it’s this hot.” Raditz huffed from the passenger side up front beside Gohan.

“How? We’re going up north, it should be getting colder.” Bulma groaned and threw her head on to the seat’s headrest. “Can you at least roll down the window, I would do mine but…” The blue-haired girl waved her hand over Kakarot, who stirred slightly. 

“It’ll only get hotter,” Raditz responded.

“You don’t know that.”

Raditz simply signed as Gohan cracked the window and, as he said, a hot gust of air came through; one that seemed to dry out the moisture in the car through heat alone.

“… ‘s too hot.” Kakarot murmured before sleepily opening his eyes. Gohan nodded his head before silently rolling up the window. “Thank you.”

“Back to normal now?” Bulma asked as Kakarot pushed himself off her lap.

“Yeah. Thank you for lettin’ me use your lap.”

“Just don’t expect it to become an everyday occurrence.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It’s the same thing as an event. And before I forget, I told you so.” Raditz explained. 

“Mature,” Bulma muttered before returning her attention to the road, she still wasn’t all too sure about the last time Gohan actually drove a car and was ready to step in in case she needed to take the wheel. Bulma gave a small gasp of shock as the car turned up the hill to reveal the source of the heat: A mountain that seemed to be comprised entirely of flame.

Fry-Pan Mountain.

X

Puar looked at his partner in confusion as Yamcha stopped the car on top of the hill.

“What’s wrong?” Puar asked. Yamcha pointed to the on-fire mountain off in the distance.

“Puar, do you who live there?” Puar shook his head no. “Well let me explain… That, my feline friend, is the castle of one Gyumao, he’s a martial artist that trained under the fabled Turtle Hermit. He’s amassed a treasure that makes even the greediest dragons jealous. This treasure… This is a treasure that people had repeatedly tried to steal and  _ have  _ killed for. When his wife was killed during a robbery attempt he decreed that anyone caught trying to steal his treasure would be executed on the spot. Legend has it that Kami was so upset with him that when Gyumao was out walking he sent a rain of hellfire to engulf the castle so no one may touch the castle and have the treasure contained within ever again.” Yamcha explained. A moment of silence passed between the two bandits before Puar spoke up.

“So are we giving up?”

“No. Gyumao trained with Kakarot’s grandfather, the man who was traveling with them. the kid’ll probably make friends with him and get the Dragon Ba-.” Yamcha started only to be interrupted by a shrill scream. The bandit turned behind him and saw a girl in what appeared to be a helmet and armored underwear being chased by a dinosaur. The girl turned around and detached a blade of the top of her helmet and threw it at the dinosaur, screaming all the while. The blade cleanly sliced off the head of the dinosaur before returning like a boomerang to the girl. The head of the dinosaur rolled up to the girls' feet and, with another cry of fear, she pressed a finger from each hand on her head and shot a laser from the helmet that incinerated the dinosaur. The girl turned away from the now charred remains and ran into Yamcha’s direction. Yamcha barely had any time to process what had happened before the girl ran right up to him.

“H-Hey.” The bandit shakily said, afraid of what was going to happen if he upset the girl.

“Stranger danger!” The girl cried as she pulled up her fingers to fire the laser. Yamcha immediately sprang into action and swiftly delivered a quick chop to the neck and knocked out the girl.

“Nope, not dying tonight,” Yamcha stated before starting the car back up and driving off to Fry-Pan Mountain.

“So you don’t get flustered around those kinds of girls?” Puar dryly asked.

“I’m not a pervert.” Yamcha rebuked.

X

For the first time in his life, Raditz hated having long hair. Sure, everyone else was sweating, but Raditz’s hair had already caught fire from a stray ember, thankfully they put it out before it could cause any real damage. The only solace was the fact that maybe he would get a zenkai boost from the heat, already he could feel himself adjusting.

“Yeah right.”

“What was that?” Bulma asked.

“Nothin’,” Raditz responded and looked over to Kakarot who was poking at a skull with the Nyoibu. “Found anything?”

“Nope, jus’ skulls and burnt bones. This one has a cut in it.”

“Well, it’s up there,” Bulma said as she pointed to the top of the mountain, the Dragon Radar beeping steadily in her hand. “You guys think you can go up there and grab it?”

“I’m not gonna try with my hair. Kakarot, you go.” Raditz stated.

“Alright. Kinto’un!” The young Saiyan cried out. As always, the yellow cloud came zooming at its call. Kakarot hopped on the Kinto’un when it had sputtered to a stop and Raditz watched as his brother flew up to the top of the mountain before dipping down to the castle, only to come back up when the flames proved to be too hot for him. Raditz groaned to himself as he saw this happen before sensing a relatively high power from behind him. The older Saiyan turned around just in time for the movement to dodge the large throwing ax aimed at him. Out of the shadows, a man that easily towered over Raditz with a bushy beard, a horned helmet covering the top half of his face, and plated mail that covered his large abdomen stepped out. The man walked over to Bulma and Gohan, for his ax had been buried in the stone wall behind them, and retrieved his weapon before talking. It didn’t take a genius to realize that this was Gyumao.

“Why are you here?” Gyumao growled out.

“The hell was that you trigger-happy oaf!” Gohan shouted out, the anger in his voice surprising Raditz for this was the first time he heard the old human show anything akin to the emotion.

The larger man turned to presumably say something to Gohan before pausing and doing a double-take.

“Gohan?”

“Of course it’s me, you meathead. Now explain why you nearly just emended an ax into my skull.” Gohan stated as he walked up to Gyumao.

“You’re old.” The giant ever-so wisely stated.

“And your castle’s on fire.” Gohan dryly said before breaking out into a grin and embracing his friend in a hug. “How’s life been?”

“Everything I own is caught in there,” Gyumao stated as he pointed to his castle. A soft puttering sound echoed throughout the empty valley as Kakarot flew back to the group on the Kinto’un.

X

“’s too hot to get into the castle.” The smaller Saiyan stated, then noticed the large man standing there. “Who’re you?”

“Kakarot, this is Gyumao. Gyumao this is Kakarot, my grandson.” Gohan stated, pointing to the horned man staring at the Kinto’un.

“Grandson?! You had a kid?!”

“Adoptive,” Raditz stated. “Grandson is just what he calls me and Kakarot.”

“Well, that explains it,” Gyumao responded and turned back to Kakarot. “So where did you get a Kinto’un, kid?”

“Master Roshi gave it to me for savin’ Kame.”

“Master Roshi! Do you know where he’s living right now?!” The giant roared. 

“Do we?” Kakarot questioned as he turned to Gohan and Raditz.

“Somewhere off the coast, I think,” Bulma spoke up. Gyumao began to jump and dance around with this being said.

“Yes! Finally, I get to go back to my castle!”

“That’s good, but I fail to see how Master Roshi can do anything about that,” Gohan stated and gestured to the fiery mountain.

“Well, the truth is, I’ve come across some intelligence that suggests Master Roshi has an item in his possession capable of putting out the flames known as the Basho-sen.” The giant explained. “But you guys know where Master Roshi lives, so one of you can go and get it!” 

“So long as we can have the Dragon Ball in return,” Kakarot stated as he pulled out the four-star ball. “It looks like this.”

“I’ve seen one fo those. If that’s all you want I see no problem with it.” Kakarot nodded and began to steer the Kinto’un away from Gyumao before the ox themed king spoke up again. “Before you go, I have another request for you.”

“Mmm?”

“I didn’t actually think things would be solved so easily, so yesterday I sent my daughter Chi-Chi out to find Master Roshi herself. If you happen to find her on your way, would you mind picking her up?” Gyumao explained to the young Saiyan. “She’s a bit shy but sweet. Here’s a picture.” The giant said as he pulled out a photo from his pocket of a young girl around Kakarot’s age with long black hair and a strange helmet on her head.

“So I bring her back as well as the fan?”

“Could you do that?”

“Sure, Be right back,” Kakarot stated before zipping off into the distance.

X

Chi-Chi screamed in embarrassment as the strange man just confessed his love to her. No had done that before, but then again no one had really talked to her before either… But it was embarrassing nonetheless! The sound of a car starting snapped the young girl out of her thoughts as she turned around and saw the man rush off to somewhere. Chi-Chi was confused as to why the man would leave after confessing his love for her but had her thoughts interrupted again by a small sputtering noise. Chi-Chi looked off into the distance to find a boy around her age on top of what looked like a flying cloud calling at her.

“Is your name Chi-Chi?!” The boy called out to her as he zoomed to her feet on top of his cloud. 

“Y-Yes, But… Who are you?” Chi-Chi asked then added in a low mutter. “S-Seems like everyone knows my name today.”

“I’m Kakarot, an’ you’re Gyumao’s daughter, right?”

“Y-You know my father?” Chi-Chi asked the boy, now known to her as Kakarot. 

“Yeah, he asked me to find somethin’ called the Basho-sen for ‘im,” Kakarot explained. “Here, I’ll take you with me on Kinto’un.” The boy motioned to the cloud with his… Tail? “So long as you have a pure heart.”

“My heart is as clean as a flushed toilet,” Chi-Chi stated as she struggled to get on top of the cloud with her short legs before remembering Kakarot’s tail. Chi-Chi reached for Kakarot’s extra limb and used it to pull herself up. “Made it,” Chi-Chi stated right as Kakarot collapsed to the ground. “Wh-What’s wrong?”

“Don’t pull on my tail.” The boy groaned.

“H-How come?”

“I can’t move when someone does that,” Kakarot explained before climbing back on top of the Kinto’un. “Ready?”

“Y-Yeah,” Chi-Chi stated before the Kinto’un took off at Kakarot’s command, the young girl clinging on to her escort for dear life.

X

The duo rode in silence for most of the ride, save for that time when Kakarot sniffed Chi-Chi in the crotch to see if she was a girl.

She was, and she got mad at that and pushed him off the Kinto’un for some reason. Girls were strange.

Then she kept calling him dear for some reason, which was strange since that was what Kakarot’s grandpa called Bulma and every other girl they came across. Kakarot wasn’t a girl, and Chi-Chi wasn’t a grandpa! so the duo rode in silence after that except when Kakarot had to direct the Kinto’un in a different direction until they came across a house on an island in the middle of the ocean.

“That’s it, right?” Chi-Chi asked.

“What else could it be?” Kakarot stated, to which Chi-Chi gave a short nod of agreement. Kakarot directed the Kinto’un towards the island and the duo soon not only found themselves on it but also Master Roshi!

… Sweeping the sand?

Maybe it was dirty.

“Heya!” Kakarot cried out to the old man before hopping down from the cloud. “How’ve you been, Old Man?”

“Oh, I’ve been doing just fine,” Roshi responded.

“Kinto’un’s been doin’ great too.”

“Well, it’s a gift from a god after all.”

“That’s so cool!” Kakarot exclaimed.

“Hey, Kakarot,” Kame said.

“Hiya Kame. Did ya get lost again while we were gone?”

“Well, I’m here so I’m gonna say no.”

“H-Hey boy, that girl with you… She seems different.” Roshi stated suddenly. Of course, Chi-Chi was different than Bulma, Chi-Chi was Chi-Chi. “Yeah! Her boobs were  _ way _ perkier last time!”

X

“Gohan?” Gyumao asked tentatively to his friend.

“Yes?”

“Why is your grandson growling?” The giant said as Bulma inched slowly away from Raditz’s darkened aura.

X

“This isn’t Bulma, this is Gyumao’s daughter,” Kakarot explained.

“Gyumao’s daughter? I see.”

“Her name’s Chi-Chi.”

“Greetings,” Chi-Chi said and gave a slight bow. Roshi nodded back and walked off mumbling to himself.

“H-Hey, is that old man really Master Roshi?” Chi-Chi whispered to Kakarot.

“Yeah, Grandpa says so.”

“Well, I’m going to give him a test.” The girl said, reaching up to the blade on her helmet and dislodged it. “If he’s really Master Roshi, he’ll be able to dodge this.” With that said, Chi-Chi threw the blade at Master Roshi. Right before the blade hit him, Roshi gave out a mighty cry and attempted to deflect it with his wooden cane.

It went about as well as one would expect.

X

“Mr. Gohan?” Bulma asked

“Yes?”

“why is Raditz laughing?”

X

“I knew it! You aren’t Master Roshi!” Chi-Chi yelled out as the man in question exclaimed in pain and clutched the blade now embedded in his head. “He would’ve dodged that.”

“Even I can’t dodge something like that with no warning whatsoever!” Roshi snapped at the girl.

“Then show me proof that your Master Roshi!” Chi-Chi yelled back. The hermit groaned and fumbled with his pocket before pulling out a card. Chi-Chi’s face turned from aggression to shock as she read the card. “I’m so sorry!” Chi-Chi then yanked the blade out of Roshi’s head all while saying apologies. “I tend to jump to conclusions a lot.”

“I don’t think I like her much,” Roshi muttered. The old man cleared his throat before speaking up. “So why did you two come here anyway?”

“That’s right, I almost forgot,” Kakarot said. “We need somethin’ called the Basho-sen, do ya have it?”

“The Basho-sen? What would you need that for?”

“We need it to put out the fires on Fry-Pan Mountain,” Chi-Chi said. “Please let us borrow it!”

“So the rumors are true… Yes, the Basho-sen could extinguish the fires.” Roshi began to mutter to himself as he walked towards the beach.

“Please let us borrow it! I beg you!”

“Very well,” Roshi stated after a brief silence. “But I have one condition. Boy, come here.” Roshi motioned over to Kakarot. Kakarot walked over to Master Roshi. “I’ll let you borrow the Basho-sen so…”

“You already said that.” Kakarot interrupted.

“Listen! That girl from before, with the big boobs…”

“Bulma?”

“Yeah, that’s the one! In exchange for the Basho-sen, well I’m a man with very particular needs; as I’m sure you are aware as a male himself. So in exchange for the Basho-sen, I would like to touch her boobs, understood?” Roshi whispered to Kakarot

“What was that condition Master?!” Kame shouted at Roshi.

“Don’t be so loud! she’ll hear you!” Roshi snapped back.

“So you just wanna touch her chest?” Kakarot interrupted. “I’m fine wit’ that.”

“You are a surprisingly shallow kid.”

“Raditz might get mad though.” 

“Alright, with that matter settled, let me get the Basho-sen for you,” Roshi said, completely ignoring Kakarot’s comment, or maybe he just didn’t hear it. With the matter settled the Turtle Hermit walked back into his house and began to search for the Basho-sen. “Hey, Kame,” Roshi said after some time has passed. “Where did I put the Basho-sen?” 

“Didn’t you trade it for some magic beans the other day?”

“That was the Basho-sen? Damn.”

“No Basho-sen?” Chi-Chi questioned quietly. “Now I’ll never get to go home.”

“And I’ll never find the Dragon Ball.”

“Did I say all hope was lost? No!” Roshi cried out as he walked back out of the house, now in a yellow century shirt. “I’ll just have to do it myself.”

“What’d ya change your clothes for?” Kakarot asked.

Roshi gave out a small chuckle at hearing this. “In times like these, you’ve got to dress the part. Now get on the cloud.” Kakarot and Chi-Chi compiled and were soon on top of the Kinto’un while Roshi called a flying spinning turtle from the sky. The old man got on to the turtle and the group were soon on their way back to Fry-Pan Mountain.

X

“I still don’t get why you don’t just go up there and get it yourself if you're supposedly stronger than anything on the planet,” Bulma said to Raditz.

“Ki doesn’t do anything against natural elements and Saiyan hair isn’t affected by it. I would catch on fire.” Raditz explained.

“You would think a race of alien warriors would have some kind of resistance to weather.”

“Energy manipulation doesn’t amount to controlling our internal temperature,” Raditz stated as Gyumao yelled out Kakarot and a girl’s arrival, followed shortly by Roshi. The old man got off the spinning turtle he came in on and looked towards the mountain before snapping his head towards Gyumao. “What’s this I hear about you resorting to murder to protect some treasure?”

“Yes, Master Roshi! I have become possessed by anger and greed! Once the fire is gone I’ll get rid of it all!” The giant exclaimed as he fell to his knees.

“No need for that. I’m not here to tell you what to do with your money.” Roshi responded. “I would have thought at least one of you two would be able to put this out.”

“It would’ve taken too long if I did it,” Gohan explained.

“I didn’t want to hear excuses,” Roshi stated then turned to Bulma. “Come over here for a second. The rest stay there.”

“What is it?” Bulma questioned as she walked over to Roshi. Kakarot and Roshi talked to Bulma for a bit with the latter occasionally screaming at the eldest present. Raditz was in the process of trying to listen to the conversation when the girl from earlier walked up to him.

“What do you want?” Raditz asked.

“Are you Kakarot’s father?” The girl asked.

“No, I’m his brother.”

“Oh…” The girl trailed off and turned away bashfully.

“What is it?” Raditz responded. “I’m the closest thing he’s got, besides the old man.” The Saiyan jerked his finger behind him at Gohan.

“Oh, okay!” The girl prepped up at hearing this. “Oh Kami, this is embarrassing… Okay, um, I was wondering i-if I could have your brother's hand in m-marriage?”

“The hell is that, some kind of food?” Raditz questioned and turned to Gohan. “Hey, old man! What the hell is marriage?!”

Chi-Chi began to cough on her own spit as Gohan walked over to Raditz. “For future references, it would be best not to shout your question.”

“You told me to ask if I don’t know something.”

“Asking and shouting are two completely different things. Now for your question, marriage is something that happens when two people love each other get together and, to put it simply, live together and have a family. Why do you ask?” Gohan explained.

“The girl wanted to know if she could marriage my brother, the answer’s no.”

“What? why?” The girl sadly asked.

“First of all, Saiyan sperm isn’t active until we reach seventeen, Kakarot’s twelve.”

“I wasn’t thinking about… That…” The girl's cheeks flushed red.

“Second, I haven’t seen you fight and Saiyan’s can only be attracted to strong-willed women. Third and last, I don’t even know your name.” 

“… It’s Chi-Chi…”

“If I may,” Gohan started. “I know I only have a vague understanding of how Saiyan culture works, but shouldn’t she get a chance to prove herself; if it’s strength you’re worried about?” Raditz stared at the old man for a moment before opening his mouth again. “That is a very Saiyan idea. Didn’t expect that.” Gohan chuckled and rubbed the back of his head at this.

“Alright! Let’s put out this fire!” Roshi yelled out.

“we’ll talk later,” Raditz told Chi-Chi as Roshi began to undress.

X

Kakarot wondered what Roshi was doing when the old man started to take off his shirt and tossed them to the side, revealing his bare-bones form. Bulma scoffed as Roshi walked by her and mumbled something to her. Roshi walked over to a nearby wall and tried to climb it, keyword being “tried”.

Kakarot had to help him get up on the wall.

“Okey-Dokey. Here goes.” the martial artist said before taking a deep breath and quickly expelling it with a shout. Immediately his muscles bulged up and his height doubled.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this.” Gohan calmly observed while Gyumao started to become excited at what was about to happen.

“ **Ka** …  **Me** …”

Roshi began to chant as he cupped his hands in front of him.

“ **Ha** …  **Me** …”

The old man placed his cupped hands beside his waist as a dazzling blue light began to gather in his hands.

“ **HA** !”

Roshi cried out, thrusting his hands forward and shooting out a blue beam of energy towards the mountain. Roshi powered down as everyone stood shocked at what had happened; everyone except Raditz, but it was always hard to guess what Raditz was thinking. The reason for everyone's shock was simple, Standing where a fiery mountain once was now a pile of rubble and rock.

“Well, I could’ve done that,” Raditz observed. “Hell, Kakarot could’ve done that.”

“Oops, guess I overdone it.”

X

“This feels better,” Raditz noted and ragged the sweat out of his hair. “Why would you set fire to your own castle?” He asked Gyumao.

“I didn’t. It just caught on fire one day while me and Chi-Chi were having a picnic.”

“I apologize for destroying your castle, even if it did wind up putting out the fire.” Roshi apologized while putting his clothing back on.

“We can just rebuild it, it’s no big deal.” Chi-Chi dismissed. 

“Although I do suppose that will be hard with no money,” Gohan noted. While this exchange was happening Kakarot walked up to Roshi and tugged on his shirt.

“Hey, old-timer? Could you teach me that move?!” The young Saiyan excitedly asked the hermit.

“That’s impossible.” Roshi chuckled. “It took your grandfather fifty years before he could do it himself.” Raditz turned to Gyumao and Gohan, who were still talking to each other, and asked how old they both were.

“thirty-six.”

“eighty-five.” Gohan responded before turning to Raditz “Now I believe you had a conversa-”

“Ha!” Kakarot’s voice pierced through the air causing everyone to turn their head towards the young Saiyan as a bright blue beam emerged from his hands, much smaller than the one Roshi used, and shot itself into the car.

“Hey! I did it!” Kakarot cheered with Roshi and Gyumao staring at him in shock. “… But I broke the car…” The young Saiyan appeared crestfallen for a moment before regaining his cheerful composure. “Oh well, we can always fly.” Roshi turned to Raditz before speaking.

“So how do you feel about you two coming to my place for training?”

“… If Kakarot and the old man are down with it then so am I.” Raditz stated after thinking about it for a bit. “Of course, there’s the Dragon Balls we gotta find.”

“Well, I’ll just wait.”

“Okay, now then. Girl, We need to talk.” Raditz said, directing his attention towards Chi-Chi. The girl walked over to him right as Raditz shooed Roshi away so their conversation could be held in private.

“A-Am I in trouble?” Chi-Chi stuttered out.

“No. It’s about you wanting to marriage my brother.”

“It’s called marry when it’s a verb.”

“Whatever. I’ve been thinking about ways to prove yourself but every idea that I had is either impossible for a Human or “morally wrong” for Humans.”

“So does this mean…?” Chi-Chi hopefully asked.

“No. You’re going to have six years to prove that you are a capable warrior,” Raditz stated before placing a devilish smirk on his face. “What that means, however, is up to me.”

X

“What do you mean you broke the car!” Bulma screamed at Kakarot, the 7-star Dragon Ball sparkling in her hand. “How are we going to get anywhere?!”

“Well if it’s a car you want,” Gyumao said suddenly as he pulled out a capsule from his pocket. “Just take mine.” Gyumao clicked the pill-shaped device and tossed it to the ground to reveal a scratched up roofless hovercar. “She’s one of the last of the Porch line, so she’s old but pretty fast.”

“Oh, my Kami! Thank you so much!” Bulma exclaimed as her, Kakarot, and Raditz got in the car.

“Come on Grandpa!” Kakarot called out.

“You guys go on without me. I’ll wait here.” Gohan calmly explained. Kakarot hopped out of the car and walked up to Gohan.

“Why?”

“Well, there’s not enough room in the car, there are only three seats,” Gohan explained.

“I can jus’ fly, or ride the Kinto’un!” Kakarot protested, Gohan bent down and met his grandson in the eyes as he placed his hand on Kakarot’s shoulder

“It’s not just that, Gyumao’s castle is destroyed and what kind of friend would I be if I ignored his plight?”

“What’s plight mean?”

“It means trouble.” The old man explained.

“Oh, not a very good one then.”

“How about this, the Tenkaichi Budokai is coming up in six months and I’ll see you then.”

“Okay, yeah! Then you can see how strong I got with Master Roshi’s training’!” Kakarot, now excited at the prospect of not only getting strong but as well as showing off just how strong, exclaimed.

“That’s my boy.” Kakarot smiled at the praise and began walking back to the car before being stopped by Chi-Chi.

“So you're going to try for the Budokai?” The young girl asked.

“Yep.”

“Well, I’ll train and be there too.”

“Okay! I’ll see ya there then!” The Saiyan said and continued to go to the car right as Bulma walked away from a corner with Master Roshi and an angry blush on her face.

X

“Shu! Mai! What is the status on those Dragon Balls?!” A small blue imp yelled out at a grandiose table filled with enough food to feed a king.

Or an emperor.

Two people, one a Human female with long black hair that fell down to her neck and a dark-green trench coat and the other was an orange and white dog anthropomorph dressed in purple ninja garb with a small sword strapped to his back, came running into the room and stood at attention.

“Whoever has been collecting them has managed to gather six and are headed this way.” The woman reported.

“Good, let them come and bring the Dragon Balls to us. Once they’re here we'll take them from them and I’ll soon be named emperor of the world!” The imp said before he began to laugh maniacally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author notes: I’ve said once I’ll say it again: I hate writing people just talking and not doing anything. it’s strange since I love expressing people's personality through how they talk.   
Power levels (keep in mind that these are more like guidelines then facts):  
Raditz: 340  
Kakarot: 125


	5. Shenlong Awakens

Kakarot hummed happily to himself while he sat in the car, waiting for Bulma and Raditz to get back from shopping. The young Saiyan was inside a random town in a desert with strange mushroom trees that towered over some of the tallest trees back on Mt. Paozu. Kakarot found it strange that Bulma needed a shopping partner, Grandpa never needed one when he went down from Paozu to get fruits and vegetables. 

“Thanks for waiting.” said Bulma, now wearing sandals with white pants and a shirt under a vest, as she walked up towards the car besides Raditz who was holding the groceries as he walked behind her.

“Why ain’t ya carryin’ anything?”

“Because ‘she’s a girl,’ like she couldn’t carry it herself,” Raditz grumbled before he unceremoniously dropped the groceries into the back seat. 

“I’m sorry the ‘Saiyan warrior’ couldn't be bothered to carry his own food.” Bulma sniped back.

“You eat it too.”

“Well,  _ I _ paid for it!” Bulma shouted back at Raditz. The elder Saiyan gave an exasperated sigh before he dug the food out of his seat and flopped down into it. “Now wait here while I pay for our gas.” Having the last word, Bulma turned towards the man in charge of the gas station the car was in. The two Saiyan’s waited until Bulma came back before grabbing a snack. 

“ _ Hey _ girl, why don’t you ditch spiky and come with us?” Someone spoke from behind Bulma. Turning around, she saw men wearing large coats that went down to their legs with helmets that had fake rabbit ears that stuck out, both men had guns strapped to their bodies.

“What do you want?” Bulma rudely asked. 

“You’re tellin’ me you never heard of the Rabbit Gang?!” The darker guy responded, his voice full of surprise.

“Seems like she’s not from ‘round here.” The other commented before pulling out a small pistol and pointing it at Bulma. “We’re not asking.”

Bulma took one uninterested look at the gun before turning back to Raditz and Kakarot.

“Bad guy?” they both asked.

“Bad guy,” she confirmed. Kakarot grinned as he and Raditz hopped out of the car and faced the two thugs. The two men simply smirked as they stared at the two Saiyans, which slowly faded as their eyes fell upon Raditz and Kakarot’s tails.

“What’s this? You trying to steal our turf?!” The dark one yelled out, pulling his gun out of his holster. “If you think you can just stroll on in and take what you want then you’ve got another thing coming!” the gang member continued, before Kakarot punched him in the gut. The other thug pointed his gun at Raditz and fired a bullet that hit the older Saiyan between the eyes before ricocheting right back and burying itself in the thug's chest.

He died before his body hit the ground. 

“That was fun! We should fight more people.” Kakarot said before he and Raditz walked back to Bulma.

“What’s he mumbling about?” Bulma asked them as she pointed to the dark gang member who was speaking into a strange box with a metal pole sticking out the top. The thug looked at the group with a mad smile, while the townspeople ran away in fear of…something.

“When the boss gets here, you’re done!” The thug yelled out “You’re all gonna get turned into carrots!”

* * *

“…What?” Raditz asked confusedly. “People don’t turn into carrots.” 

“Maybe people here do?” Kakarot piped up.

“Maybe…” Raditz trailed off. The elder Saiyan watched with mild disinterest (it wasn’t like anyone on this planet could actually hurt him) as a vehicle stylized like a rabbit rolled up and out jumped… 

“A rabbit…?” One wearing a puke green suit with purple sleeves covered in red dots, too.

“That’s a little on the nose,” Bulma commented. The humanoid rabbit rolled up his oversized collar and calmly walked over to the corpse and glanced down at it, before turning back to the trio.

“Pathetic. A girl, a kid, and a long-haired brat, none of them armed, were able to put a stop to one of my men.” The rabbit mumbled, barely loud enough for even Raditz to hear, before he turned to the thug. 

“I’m sorry boss, but the people, they’re freaks! He shot that one right in the head and-” The thug stopped mid-panic by the rabbit holding up a single finger and pointing it at the thug.

“No excuses.” The rabbit suddenly took to the air in a flip and landed right at Raditz’s feet, before extending his hand. “Let’s shake hands.” Raditz looked at the furry hand before grabbing the appendage with a smirk. “Sure.” 

A loud  _ crunch _ pierced the air as Raditz crushed the rabbit’s hand in his own. The gang leader screamed in pain and cradled his broken hand, unknowing of Raditz raising an outstretched palm towards the thug glowing with ki. “ _ Die, _ ” Raditz said before he fired off a small blast, piercing through the rabbit’s chest. The Saiyan turned to the last quivering thug and gave a predatory smirk as he watched the human run away screaming. Raditz then motioned for Kakarot to get back in the car while the villagers exited their hiding places to see what transpired. “We better get going, they’ll want to start talking to us soon.”

“Why’s that a bad thing? I get along with everyone,” Bulma responded.

“Do they work for you?” he retorted. Bulma didn’t speak, as the sound of the car driving away from the village filled the silence.

“I’m taking your balls,” a robot with the face of a dog told the group, who were now riding in a desert covered in mushroom trees, as it smashed into the front of the car and took the case containing the Dragon Balls. “…Don’t take that out of context.”

“I got this!” Kakarot yelled out and began to chase after the now flying away robot. The young Saiyan called out for the Kinto’un, and with his Nyoi-bō drawn, Kakarot took to the sky and began to search for the metal man and their Dragon Balls. Kakarot dropped down to the ground where he found the robot laying down on the ground and gently prodded it with the Nyoi-bō. 

It seemed to be dead, and with no Dragon Balls in sight.

“Darn,” Kakarot muttered right as Raditz dropped down next to him with Bulma being carried in the elder Saiyan’s arms.

Raditz set Bulma down beside his younger brother before the blue-haired girl spoke up. “Where are the Dragon Balls?”

“Well, I got one ‘ere, but the rest ran away…” Kakarot gestured to the desert in a wide, sweeping motion. “I think the robot died, too.” Raditz slapped the back of Kakarot’s head.

“Idiot, whoever was driving it ran away. They probably ran off by now with the Dragon Balls.” 

“Ha! But  _ we’ve _ got a radar and  _ the _ y don’t!” Bulma exclaimed with a large grin. The blue-haired girl’s hands went to her pockets to pull out the radar before her grin faded away. “It’s…in the…glovebox.”

“You mean that thing that you shove whatever in? The one in the car?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Well, I guess Kakarot could ride his cloud while I carry you again.”

“Not happening a second time.”

“Why not?” Raditz tiredly asked.

“Because you nearly dropped me three separate times!” Bulma shouted back.

“I wouldn’t have done that if you’d stop squirming!”

“Hey, guys,” a familiar bandit said as he pulled up beside the group. “Do you need a ride?”

“Oh  _ hey _ Yamcha,” Bulma greeted, her argument with Raditz forgotten. The group, now consisting of Yamcha and Puar, stood in front of Yamcha’s car staring at a massive castle that towered over the trees.

* * *

“It’s so big…” The collective group, save for Raditz, said in awe of the stone structure.

“You should’ve seen the castle on Vegeta-sei,” Raditz responded before he pushed the door open and entered the structure.

“Wait! You can’t just enter a bad guy’s lair without checking for traps!” Yamcha harshly whispered at Raditz as the Human slowly inched towards the Saiyan. 

“It’s not like we can be killed with a gun,” Kakarot countered and quickly followed his brother. “There’s an arrow here.” The younger Saiyan pointed to a small red arrow on the floor, looked over at the end of the hallway, and ran over. “And another one over here! And another one!” 

“Kakarot,  _ wait! _ ” Raditz called out to his brothers rapidly disappearing backside. 

“Wow, I wonder where he got his cockiness from?” Bulma sarcastically asked.

“No, he’s right. He’s just probably gonna mess something up.” Raditz responded. “We should follow him to make sure he doesn’t blow up the castle with us in it.” Raditz continued to walk down the hallway, copying his brother and following the red arrows. The group soon arrived where Kakarot stood waiting for them…at a dead end. The wall closed off behind them and Raditz punched a hole to the outside. From within the walls, a pink gas sprayed into Raditz’s face.

And the Saiyan knew only darkness.

* * *

Three individuals entered the room where that strange boy with the stupidly long hair laid down, fast asleep along with his companions. A dog dressed in ninja garb with a gas mask, a black-haired woman in a green coat that fell to her knees wearing another gas mask, and a blue imp dressed in regal clothes with his name written on the front: Pilaf.

“That’s what you get for breaking Emperor Pilaf’s castle. Now hurry and grab the Dragon-Dragon… Ba…” Pilaf trailed off and passed out.

“He passed out. Shu, take him outside,” The woman said to the bi-pedal dog.

“Jeez, Mai, you don’t have to be rude about it,” Shu grumbled but still took his boss out of the room. The woman, Mai, glanced around the room for the final Dragon Ball until her eyes caught sight of a small sack between the smallest boy’s legs.

“…Perverts,” Mai said,before she reached down and unclipped the leather sack from the boy’s waist and dumped out the Four-Star Dragon Ball. Mai ran back outside where Shu and the reawakening Pilaf were waiting.

“Ow, my head…” The blue imp groaned.

“Don’t worry emperor, soon you’ll haven’t worry about any old headache,” Shu responded.

“You’re right. The time is at hand for my ascension to emperor.” Pilaf motioned to his two underlings and soon the Dragon Balls were placed before the self-proclaimed emperor. “Now to summon the dragon god…”

“Come forth mighty dragon! and grant my wish!” Pilaf cried out. The Dragon Balls began to rapidly pulse golden light as lightning struck the area around the orbs. Then the giant monkey appeared in the distance…and why was there a giant ape?

Oh,  _ fuck _ , it was looking right at Pilaf!

* * *

Kakarot was the first one up after the walls stopped spitting that pink gas at them. The young Saiyan stretched, before he glanced at his friends all laying down on the ground. As he stood there watching everyone sleep in a not-at-all creepy way, he realized that his sack felt oddly empty. A quick search revealed what he was worried about: his grandpa’s ball was missing. It didn’t take long for Kakarot to figure out what had happened and was about to go find those  _ meanies _ and show them what happened when you took a Saiyan’s balls, when the clouds suddenly gave a bright flash of lightning. The young Saiyan’s attention was brought over to the horizon, more specifically to the full moon. He had never seen a full moon before, recalling something about a giant ape monster appearing if he looked at one; Kakarot didn’t pay attention when Raditz was explaining it. 

But it was  _ really _ pretty, almost like a big glowy pearl! The Saiyant felt a small shiver pass through his tail. He felt pretty strong! Maybe even stronger than Raditz! 

Strong enough to take back grandpa’s ball.

And angry that the little imp took  _ his _ ball, and tried to hurt his friends!

Everything was weaker than him anyway, why should  _ he _ listen to the tiny voices below?

* * *

The first thing Raditz noticed when he woke up was that he was currently falling. Thesecond was the lightning storm that lit up the darkness. And the third, was the Oozaru tearing up the castle… “Damn it you dumbass,” he muttered before he slowed his descent and gently landed on the ground next to his friends.

“What the hell is happening, Raditz!?” Bulma screamed as the group began to run away. “Why is there a giant  _ ape!? _ ”

“Kakarot must’ve looked at the full moon and turned into an Oozaru,” The elder Saiyan responded, keeping his eyes on the ground and away from the full moon.

The last thing anyone needed was  _ two _ Oozarus running around.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Yamcha screamed at an equally loud volume.

“I could say the same about-” A single bolt of lightning struck the Dragon Balls and interrupted what Raditz was trying to say. Everyone stopped moving and stared as the single bolt began to turn green and take on a more defined shape, as a long snout with whiskers and two tiny green arms formed. The glow faded out and where a storm once stood, was a giant green dragon whose body reached beyond anything Raditz had seen and into the heavens.

“ **I am Shenlong. Tell me any wish you desire, and I will grant it** …” The dragon was interrupted by a stray boulder that the now-enlarged Kakarot threw, narrowly avoiding it. “ **Why is there a Saiyan ape?!** ” 

“You! go up there and fix this mess!” Bulma yelled. “And you better explain!” Raditz flew over to Shenlong where he could hear that strange imp try to wish for…something.

A nice good tail slap sent all three of the thieves flying.

“ **Look, I don’t care who makes the wish, just make one!** ” Shenlong exclaimed, beginning to panic.

“Stop Kakarot! Just don’t kill him!” Raditz shouted.

Shenlong’s eyes glowed an even deeper shade of red before he spoke again. “ **Your wish has been granted. I bid you farewell.** ” With that, the dragon disappeared back into the Dragon Balls and launched himself (themselves? Did he count as multiple beings?).

“Raditz? Why am I big? And furry?” Kakarot’ called out, but with a voice deeper and more gravely. Raditz turned around and saw his brother in his Oozaru form staring down at him.

“I’m not sure what I expected but I’m pissed either way.”

* * *

Bulma stared at the two sleeping Saiyans, with Kakarot now…whatever counted for normal. The young Saiyan had Raditz’s shirt draped over him and was laying beside his older brother. 

“What a night, huh?” Yamcha asked with a grin. “I have no idea what happened, but we’re alive, so I consider that a win.”

“I’m pretty sure we stopped a world domination plot.”

“That makes sense. Only a world-conquering villain would have a castle in the middle of the desert,” Yamcha stated. “By the way, what did you want to wish for?”

“A perfect boyfriend. What about you?”

“I, uh, wanted to be able to talk to girls,” Yamcha bashfully said. “I’ve always had a problem doing that.”

“Well I’m a girl, and you’re talking to me.”

“R-right.”

“And you’re also a boy…” Bulma began to get closer to Yamcha.

“Right.”

“And…”

“Just  _ fuck _ already!” Raditz, who must’ve woke up, yelled before walking over to the rubble and pulling out the Nyoi-bō. “I saw less tension then when Father, Mother, and Selipa were in the same room.” The elder Saiyan walked over to Kakarot, before kicking him in the side. “Get up. We’re leaving.”

“Why’d you hafta be so hard?” The younger Saiyan started.

“Because you wouldn’t wake up otherwise. Here.” Raditz tossed the Nyoi-bō to his brother.

“Where are you guys going?” Puar asked.

“We’re going to Muten Roshi’s for training,” Kakarot stated as he put Raditz’s shirt on. “You guys wanna come?”

“No thank you. We’re going to the city.”

“Your loss,” Raditz said, beforer motioning to Kakarot, and left with his brother in tow. Bulma and Yamcha were left alone now (if you didn’t count Puar but the author doesn’t know how to write him in), and the two teens looked at each other again.

“You know, he had a point,” Bulma started.

“Yeah,” Yamcha agreed as Bulma pressed her lips against his with the ever-rising sun looming above their heads.

“Looks like everyone got what they wished for,” Bulma mused once they pulled away. ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just give Kakarot control over Oozaru and write it off as a joke? Yes. Do I care? No. Jokes aside, my new beta said I should probably use the Japanese names for everything if I’m going to use them for now on.


	6. Training for the Budokai

“Stupid jerks,” a young bald child, no more than thirteen, muttered to himself as he furiously paddled a small wooden boat, his maroon monk robes dangling loosely from his frame. “I’ll show them.”

The boy’s name was Kuririn, and he paddled towards the fabled island of the ever-more legendary Master Muten Roshi.

The reason for his trek was very simple: Kuririn used to be a monk of the Orin temple, and he had been one ever since his parents had supposedly dropped him off as a child. Despite being monks, everyone was a jerk to Kuririn.

He would show them. He would prove them all wrong.

The monk (Ex-monk? was he still a monk despite leaving the temple?) soon spotted Kame House on a small island. Kuririn stood on the front of his boat to jump over to the shore. Unfortunately, he severely overestimated himself and managed to flip and land headfirst into the sand. Next thing he knew, Kuririn was helped up by a boy with messy hair… and a tail. 

Because that made sense.

He chose to ignore this little detail (and the other guy with stupidly long hair) and turned to the oldest person there, undoubtedly Muten Roshi.

“Greetings, Master. My name is Kuririn. I have traveled from the Orin Temple to receive training from you,” Kuririn said, bowing his head respectfully.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not taking any more students.” The Turtle Hermit gestured to the two people beside him. Kuririn had to bite his tongue to keep from speaking out. Those two had hair! Clearly, they weren’t serious about martial arts.

Still, he had prepared for this.

The young monk took off his backpack and pulled out a stack of… unsavory magazines. Before he could even blink, Roshi had already swept them up in his arms and ran into his house. Kuririn stood there in stunned silence at how well that had worked before The Turtle Hermit walked back out.

“First thing’s first; do _ you _ know what I mean by “pretty girl’?” Roshi strangely asked.

* * *

High above the clouds where the air was much thinner. Raditz, Kakarot, and Kuririn searched for a pretty girl.

Pretty by human standards, at least. 

Kuririn had his arms wrapped around Kakarot, being unable to use the Kinto’un himself. The trio had found themselves above a desert ravine and so far their efforts proved fruitless. 

“There’s no one here,” Kuririn muttered. “We’re not gonna find anyone here; we should turn back.”

“Baldy’s right—”

“Hey!”

“—we should go somewhere else,” Raditz finished. No sooner had he finished his sentence when a shill screech pierced the air.

“Sounds like someone is hurt,” Kuririn said.

Raditz and Kakarot looked around until their eyes came across a blue-haired woman surrounded by two people in blue uniforms with guns pointing at her. 

“There’s a girl!” Kakarot shouted as he jumped down towards the woman with Raditz behind him. The two uniformed people stared at the two Saiyans with shock as Kuririn detached himself from Kakarot’s back and ran behind a rock

“This is all their idea! I’ve only known them for an hour!”

“They’re with her, shoot ‘em!” one of the guys yelled, and proceeded to do just that. The bullets whizzed past the two Saiyans as they advanced on the two shooters. The two brothers disappeared from sight before Raditz appeared with his elbow in one thug’s gut, and Kakarot appeared headbutting the other man. The two thugs collapsed to the ground, passed out.

“Thank you so much! How could I repay you?” the woman asked.

Raditz turned over to where Kuririn was still hiding. “Boy, will she work for the old man?” 

Kuririn peeked behind his rock. “It’s Kuririn…but she’ll do just fine…” the boy muttered, eyeing the woman up and down.

“All right, we need an attractive girl so we can train with a hermit. You fit the bill,” Raditz told the woman, who blushed and cupped her face in her hands.

“Someone thinks I’m attractive…” the woman muttered.

Raditz scoffed and grabbed the woman under his arm.

* * *

“Your guys’ uniform is… underwear?” the woman, who now identified herself as Lunch, asked as everyone present was wearing what Kuririn called lingerie.

“No, no, this is the traditional uniform of The Turtle School,” Roshi responded. Beside Kakarot, Kuririn had a blush on his face and kept picking at the clothes uncomfortably.

He didn’t really see what was wrong; it was actually comfortable and didn’t restrict movement. Raditz didn’t seem to have a problem, either.

“We will now commence training,” Roshi stated as a fly flew by him. The old hermit shooed the fly away towards Lunch. 

The fly’s wings brushed Lunch’s nose and the woman arched her back in a sneeze. “Get away!” she shouted as she sneezed. The moment she did, however, her hair turned yellow and her eyes a dark green. Lunch, or who used to be Lunch, looked around with an angry look in her eyes.

“This isn’t a jail…” Not-Lunch muttered before she turned to the group with a gun she had pulled from… somewhere. “Who the hell are you guys?!” the woman screamed before she fired off a barrage of bullets at the group.

Suddenly, another sneeze rang out and blue Lunch was there again. “Sorry, I switch personalities when I sneeze. Did Launch do anything wrong?”

Kakarot brushed himself off and looked at Roshi and Kuririn, who were laying on the ground with circular bruises on their bodies.

* * *

The sun was setting over the island that the group had moved to after Roshi said that there wasn’t enough space for the three to train at the old one. Kakarot, Raditz, and Kuririn all stood in front of Roshi, awaiting instructions.

“Until tomorrow, we will avoid anything serious. For now, until supper, we’re going to have a test of your abilities.”

“What kind of test?” Kakarot asked. In response, Roshi pulled out a marked rock from his shirt. The old man showed the group the stone with the word ’turtle’ written on it. 

“Remember this stone,” Roshi ordered before turning to a distant forest. “Now fetch.” 

“Fetch?” Kuririn worriedly asked, right before Roshi threw the rock into the woods. 

“You are to search for the rock as a show of mental prowess, concentration, and stamina. The one who brings the stone back wins, and the losers don’t get dinner. However, if none of you find the stone in thirty minutes, no one gets dinner.”

Even Raditz paled at hearing this.

After all, you don’t take away a Saiyan’s food.

“Your time starts… now.” 

All turtle students were gone before Roshi could look up.

* * *

Chi-Chi held herself on her knees, panting hard in her new qipao dress and concrete backpack given to her by Gohan. Her entire body was covered in bruises which she had gotten from training with the previously mentioned old man. Gohan chuckled to himself as she pulled herself back up and took a basic stance.

“My dear, we are done for the day.”

“I’m not,” Chi-Chi tried saying, but Gohan was already leaving the training room. ”Hey, come back!” She quickly followed after the older man with a frown on her face. “I wasn’t done…”

“Neither was I, but there is a schedule to keep. I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I kept you from your studies.”

“They’re boring, though.”

“Maybe, but I would rather be knowledgeable than ignorant.” 

Chi-Chi appeared to consider this before nodding and running off. Now Gohan was faced with a problem he found occurring increasingly often.

He had nothing to do.

He supposed it was from taking care of his grandchildren for the last nine years. Funny, considering he never once considered marriage, much less grandchildren. Gohan had found that life was full of surprises, both big and small. 

Well, he might as well do _ something _. Maybe he would go and see if anyone needed help rebuilding or cleaning still.

* * *

“Remember what we are here for?”

“Yeah,” Kakarot, now sporting a weighted turtle shell, responded before Raditz threw Kuririn, who also had a shell, in a pond far away from the island in an unpopulated area. 

They would need it for what the brothers, specifically Raditz, had planned.

The siblings watched the bubbles rise to the surface before Kuririn himself burst through the surface and began to hastily swim himself to the surface.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” he asked between gasps. “I could’ve drowned!”

“If you can run from a shark, you can wake up in a pond in the middle of the night,” Raditz responded.

“Those are two completely different things!”

“Not really…” Kakarot muttered.

“Just explain why I’m out here.”

“Training,” Raditz responded while signaling to Kakarot.

“Training?” Kuririn repeated. Behind him, Kakarot started to get undressed.

“Yep. Not just any training; Saiyan training.”

“I’m not a Saiyan,” the former monk bluntly said. Another signal, and Goku turned to look up into the night sky. “What are you doing—_ why is Goku naked _?!”

Raditz pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Roshi had bought them for him after the elder Saiyan had explained the Oozaru transformation, and placed them on his eyes while Kakarot grew in size... and hair.

The full moon was out tonight, and Kuririn needed to get stronger.

“Now dodge.”

* * *

The night was one of the only times Raditz fully had to himself. Free to think and not worry about his brother. Ever since he was a kid, he always overthought and worried too much, according to his father. 

Another memory, one of blinding light and a cramped pod, forced its way into Raditz’s mind. The Saiyan shook his head free of the event that haunted his darkest nightmares and instead focused on the quiet footsteps heading his way. 

“Hi,” Lunch greeted as she sat down beside him. “Whatcha’ doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Okay,” Lunch responded. Raditz waited for the blue-haired woman to go away, yet she continued to sit beside him.

“What are _ you _ doing?”

“Sitting,” Lunch said. The two continued to sit in silence and watch the night sky pass by them, the unspoken agreement to not talk unless the other did sitting between them. 

Raditz began to stare back up at the sky and started to drift back into his thoughts.

Until Lunch started to hum to herself.

“Can you _ stop _?” Raditz snapped at the blue-haired woman.

“Stop what?”

“That _ singing _!” Raditz responded. “Stop it!”

“What’s wrong with my singing?”

“It doesn’t matter if there’s anything wrong with it! Just stop!”

“But if nothing is wrong—” Lunch’s words were silenced when Raditz’s hand lit up in unstable purple ki. “…All right…”

More silence, peaceful silence that hung in the air, just like the Saiyan wanted.

So why did he feel bad? He had gotten what he wanted. He didn’t have to think about… her…

The smell of salt mixed with water hit his nose, and Raditz’s first thought was rain, but quiet crying reached his ears. Tears fell from Lunch’s face in near-silent heaves before she realized that Raditz was watching her.

“I’m… sorry… I’ll stop now…” Lunch sniffled back her tears, clearly not wanting to be threatened again.

He had threatened Lunch. The realization hit him like a punch from his uncle.

Gohan would be disappointed in him, right along with his parents.

“My mother used to sing,” Raditz started, catching the surprise of Lunch. “It was her way of dealing with stress, music.” Lunch remained silent through this. “She was… a terrible Saiyan,” Raditz chuckled, “but an amazing person. She had a special song for whenever my uncle would “train” me.”

“I’m—”

“No, _ I’m _ sorry, I overreacted,” Raditz interrupted. “I shouldn’t have threatened you.”

“You never talk about your parents. What happened to them?”

“Died,” Raditz replied after a pause. Lunch placed her hand on his back and began to rub in small circles.

It felt good, and Raditz leaned into it. Both the gentle rubbing and actually talking about his problems… “Can we do this again?”

“Sure, but I don’t know what’ll happen if Launch get’s in charge.”

“I’ll pay her,” Raditz responded. He didn’t understand zeni and still was fixed on galactic credits; so at least someone should make use of the money he was paid for a part-time construction job.

Again the two sat in silence, but one infinitely less awkward than the other silences. Eventually, they went back inside with a different agreement between them.

* * *

Yamcha dodged a wild strike from a “martial artist,” grabbed his arm, and judo flipped him over. Yamcha scoffed before walking out of the dojo with the residents staring at him in shock. Once outside, he pulled out a map of dojos and teachers he had, or was going to, visit.

Granted, he had had to leave Bulma and West City, and he _ did _ feel slightly bad about it, but he had to get stronger if he wanted to stand a chance against Raditz and Kakarot.

He was sure she and Puar understood why he had to leave, with the Budokai coming up and all. 

Maybe he should get them something while he was away?

“…Nah!”

* * *

Soon a year had passed, and the Tenkaichi Budokai was upon the world once more for its twenty-first anniversary.

Kakarot and Kuririn had their shells taken off and, along with Raditz, replaced them with dress suits to make the trio look presentable. Roshi bought plane tickets to fly to the Budokai, and Raditz had to sit next to Launch so she wouldn’t try to hijack the plane. After a long flight, they arrived on Papaya Island, where the tournament was taking place. 

Chi-Chi, Gohan, and Gyumao had rented a boat to travel to the land. Chi-Chi herself had taken off her concrete and was now in a puffy dress (thankfully, her dad and Gohan had promised to return her qipao when they reached the tournament grounds). Soon, they had arrived on Papaya island where the tournament was waking up from its five-year slumber.

Yamcha, his long hair cut short with a new scar on his cheek, forced himself to go faster across the ocean against his burning muscles’ wishes. You see, the ex-bandit hadn’t taken any conventional means for transportation. No, he had decided swimming across the ocean was a good idea. Every day, he trained and fought to get stronger, to perfect his technique. All so he could end up where he was now: Papaya Island, home of the Tenkaichi Budokai.

Bulma had had this day marked on her calendar ever since Yamcha had explained what the Budokai was. To be fair, that _ was _ the day he left in the middle of the night, but she understood how important it was... to all her friends. Now, she took her family’s private helicopter to Papaya Island, where she knew the friends she hadn’t seen in a year (if not for lack of trying; she _ had _ tried to visit, only to find an empty island), for the Tenkaichi Budokai was today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use different names for the separate versions of Lunch/Launch.  
Kuririn= Krillin


	7. The Tenkaichi Budokai Begins.

Raditz sniffed the air again to catch any familiar scents, specifically Gohan’s since he was the most familiar with besides his brother, but he was signing up with Roshi. Speaking of which, Raditz should probably go and do just that. The Saiyan walked over to the sign-up desk and told the two receptionists his name. He then turned around to his brother, who was talking to… Yamcha? With short hair? 

Right, Humans cut that. 

Raditz should’ve smelled him, probably would’ve if not for everyone else’s scent mixing in the air.

A little ways beyond he could see Roshi bothering Bulma and Puar before she hit him in the head with her shoe. Beside Raditz, Launch tapped his shoulder with one hand while pulling out her gun with the other.

“I’m getting a seat, tell the fart,” She said before walking off. Raditz watched her walk off while she shot into the air before he heard a voice from behind.

“She seems… nice,” Gohan said. The Saiyan turned to the older human while Kakarot ran up and embraced Gohan in a hug.

“I missed you!”

“I missed you too,” For a moment, the two humanoids hugged each other until a voice called for all contestants to the preliminary hall. “You better go, don’t want you to be late.”

“Right!” Kakarot responded before he ran off.

“Raditz, before you go, mind grabbing the gis from Roshi? Kakarot ran off before he could be given one,” Gohan asked.

“Fine,” Raditz responded and proceeded to walk towards Roshi and Kuririn, the former now in a bright orange gi with the symbol for ‘turtle’ on the chest.

“Raditz.”

“What?”

“Have fun,” The old human said with a kind smile.

Raditz paused for a moment before giving a small chuckle. “I will.”

* * *

One-hundred thirty-seven fighters.

One-on-one fights.

One minute each.

All divided by four blocks.

And that was just to qualify!

Oh, and the five-hundred thousand zeni was also a nice bonus, he guessed.

Kakarot was vibrating in excitement. No literally! There were two feet-shaped indentations where the Saiyan stood. The fights were chosen at random through a number lottery. He got seventy, Raditz had forty-eight, and Kuririn had ninety-three. Already they were dealt with two jerks from Kuririn’s old home. Kakarot was watching them walk away after bullying Kuririn. Not long after the bully’s left, they were replaced by a somewhat familiar-looking girl in a qipao.

“Hi, Kakarot and Raditz!” The girl said. She turned to Kuririn. “Who’re you?”

“Who’re you?” Kuririn asked back.

The girl bowed respectfully. “My name is Chi-Chi.”

Oh yeah, she said she would come and fight Kakarot.

“Could we have ninety-three and ninety-four?” The referee asked. Kuririn audibly gulped as he got on the stage, for his opponent was one of the jerks from his old home (the best fighter at his temple according to his partner).

The older monk eased into his stance while, from the opposite side of the ring, Kuririn quivered in his shoes. The monk smirked as the match began and launched himself toward Kuririn while aiming a punch down at him. Whether it was by instinct or conditioned response, Kuririn suddenly jumped up and ended the fight with a single kick to his former bully’s face. Kuririn’s eyes widened in surprise and he climbed down from the ring.

“Hey, guys?” Kakarot asked.

“What is it?” Chi-Chi asked back.

“We probably shouldn’t go all out unless we’re up against each other.”

“And why would we do that?” Raditz responded.

“So it’s not too easy.”

The group seemed to consider this before they all nodded in agreement. Soon after, Raditz was called to the stage with a giant… trash bag?

No, that was a person, one that just went flying over everyone’s head with a flash of light. Raditz then proceeded to vomit off the side of the stage.

It seemed that the preliminaries would be boring.

* * *

One hour.

It took one hour to get through one-hundred, thirty-seven fighters, and whittle the number down to eight.

It took one hour for Kakarot, Raditz, Chi-Chi, Yamcha, Kuririn, an olive-skinned man in a turban and robes, a dragon, and an old man with a full beard to all stand in the waiting room for the quarter-finals and wait for further instructions. They didn’t have to wait long until a blond man with sunglasses…. Who wore them indoors… walked in and started to explain how the fights would be decided.

It didn’t change much from the previous rounds, still random chance decided by numbers.

“Alright,” the referee started. “Time to draw. Yamcha, you first.” The olive man walked forward and reached into a box to pull out a ball.

“Six,” Yamcha said as he returned the ball to the announcer.

“So you’ll be in battle three. Next, Giran.” The dragon stepped up.

“Eight,” the monster growled. “That puts me in four.”

“Right, you are. Raditz.”

“Two.”

“Battle one. Namu.”

“Three.”

“Second fight. Kuririn.” The monk nodded and grabbed his number and paled when he saw it.

“Alrighty, one puts you with Raditz. kakaroto.”

“It’s Kakarot, and I got seven. That means I get to fight him!” The young Saiyan pointed to Giran.

“Yep, Jackie Chun.”

“I got five.”

“So you’ll fight Yamcha. That just leaves Chi-Chi to fight Namu.” The referee motioned to the old man. “And that’s it. The rules are the same as the preliminaries so try and be a good sport, we have thirty minutes before the first fight begins so prepare in any way you please.”

* * *

It had been a long time since Gohan had considered himself surprised. He was trained with a giant, under a three-hundred-year-old martial artist master, and had two alien grandchildren who turned into giant apes when they looked at the full moon.

He was not prepared for the scary blonde girl to sneeze and change into a completely different person.

Currently, Lunch (as he learned the blue-haired one called herself) was chatting with Bulma about boys.

Because that’s what all this generation’s girls seem to talk about unless they’re threatening to shoot someone.

It was at this moment, that Gohan realized just how old he was. It was also at this moment when the previously mentioned grandchildren came running up with Chi-Chi and their bald friend.

“We got in!” Kakarot exclaimed. “We did it!”

“Well that’s certainly an accomplishment,” Gohan responded. “Didya have fun?” Kakarot nodded excitedly before he pointed to his bald friend.

“This is Kuririn! He trained with me and Raditz at Roshi’s!”

“Manners, boy. Haven’t I taught you anything?” Roshi barked at the Saiyan as he hit Kakarot on the head. The oldest there had disappeared soon after the preliminaries started.

“Yes sir, Master Roshi…”

“Much better. I worked hard for that title,” The eldest said smugly.

“Sure you did…” Gohan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t remember you being so snippy,” Roshi shot back.

“Will all remaining contestants report to the temple?” an announcer called.

“We have to go,” Raditz said as he turned and walked to the temple. The others all said their goodbyes and followed the Saiyan. Gohan turned to his old master to thank him for training his grandchildren as the group walked off when he noticed something.

“Where’s Master Roshi?”

* * *

“I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

“Probably.”

“You’re not gonna go easy on, are you?”

“Nope.”

“I thought so,” Kuririn muttered dejectedly. Because of course, of all the opponents, he got Raditz.

Why could he get the geezer?!

Kuririn shook his head to clear his thoughts. Worrying about what could've been wouldn’t help.

“Hey,” Raditz said. “Try to relax and have fun. I’m not going to kill you.”

Kuririn nodded and swallowed back his spit before the announcement to begin sounded. The young martial artist closed his eyes to brace for the inevitable punch or kick that would send him out of the ring…

Yet nothing happened. Kuririn slowly reopened his eyes and saw that Raditz hadn’t even moved.

“Are you not gonna do anything?” the Saiyan questioned.

“What’s the point…” Kuririn muttered. The monk’s head jerked forward as Raditz disappeared from Kuririn’s line of sight. It took a second (and Kuririn looking behind him) for him to understand that Raditz had just slapped him.

“Get your head out of your ass,” Raditz ordered. “If you lose, learn from it. If you win, more power to you.” The Saiyan walked back to his side of the ring. It sounded almost as if Raditz was quoting someone or something. Either way, he was right. Kuririn took a calming breath to steady his nerves before slipping into position.

Kuririn moved forward with speed far surpassing someone of his age to close the distance between him and the Saiyan. Raditz struck first by dropping low and sweeping his leg in front of him. Kuririn quickly recovered and jumped above one of Raditz’s kicks, taking the opportunity to deliver his own kick. Raditz stepped back and swat his friend out of the air. It was an act of instinct, honed by getting battered around by a giant ape for a year, that Kuririn carried the momentum to vault over and go for the Saiyan's face once more. Raditz grabbed his friend's leg with his free hand and held Kuririn in front of him.

“Give up,” Raditz told the squirming monk.

“No,” Kuririn grunted back.

“Fine,” the Saiyan muttered before tossing Kuririn off the edge.

The announcement signaling Raditz’s victory sounded, and all Kuririn felt was shame. Then he looked up to see Raditz standing above him.

“Learn from it,” was all he said before walking off.

* * *

Raditz walked past Roshi, who was pretending to be someone else for some reason and sat down beside Chi-Chi.

“I’m stronger now,” the girl said.

“Yep,” Raditz responded.

“And I got into the quarter-finals.”

“Yep.”

“So, do you think…”

“Don’t ask,” Raditz interrupted. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was talking about their deal.

“But when will I know?”

“When I tell you.”

“Why does it matter?” Chi-Chi questioned. Silence followed as Raditz seemingly ignored the question. “Answer me!”

More silence and Chi-Chi repeated her question with a push to Raditz’s side. “I’ll disqualify us both if you don’t answer me.”

“And how would you do that?”

“No fighting outside of a match.” the girl said cockily. Raditz stared at the girl before the Saiyan cracked a small smile.

“You’re good. Fine, I’ll tell,” Raditz said and looked over at his brother. “I remember the last words my mother and father ever spoke to me: watch your brother.” The announcement for Chi-Chi’s fight sounded and the girl glared at Raditz before storming off.

* * *

Namu refused to sit by and pray for an early rain while his home village dehydrated and his people starved. So he had made a promise to his family to enter the Budokai and win enough money to buy enough water to grow their crops.

And in front of him stood a child, a girl that was no older than thirteen. He would’ve preferred to not have to fight someone of the fairer sex, especially one so young, but he couldn’t let something like that get in the way of his village. The two fighters bowed respectfully before they took their respective stances.

Before he had time to think, the girl was already on him delivering a rapid series of punches and kicks. Namu quickly countered and chopped his opponent's neck. The girl backed off as she grabbed her neck and gasped for breath. The audience waited for the girl to catch her breath while Namu adjusted his stance for size. it was clear that he was at a disadvantage when it came to the size difference between the two, Namu’s style wasn’t made to fight small opponents while it was clear to him that the girl was an opposite case. The girl glared at him before Namu jumped into the air, farther up than anyone could see, and as he began his descent he crossed his arms in front of his face and angled his body downward. His body gained speed while it plummeted down towards the girl. There would be no way she would block this.

Then she stepped to the side, and Namu was helpless as the girl spun into a roundhouse kick that sent Namu careening outside the arena.

* * *

He had failed.

Not only had he failed in his quest to save his village, but he also failed to a child. His honor stained, Namu was packing his bag when the elder walked up to him. The two exchanged respectful nods with each other before the older one tossed a hoi-poi capsule at Namu.

“I can tell you’re gonna leave anyway, so I filled that up with enough water to last you the year,” the old man said. As he stared down at the capsule, Namu asked the first thing that came to his mind.

“How?”

“The water’s free here since there’s so much of it here.”

“But how did you know?”

“I’ve lived long enough to pick up a few tricks,” the old man answered cryptically. He turned and walked away, leaving Namu stunned.

“You’re screwed, you know that?” Yamcha stated rather cockily. In front of him was Jackie Chun, some old guy who didn’t even bother with a stance. But it was best to be careful so Yamcha watched him carefully and got into form. Jackie muttered something to himself before he appeared in front of the younger man. Yamcha, understandably he was sure, reflexively threw a wild jab at Jackie in startlement.

The elder dodged it with a lazy air about him and Yamcha adapted by trying to sweep his legs. Another dodge, followed by yet another futile attempt to hit Jackie Chun. This continued for a few more minutes, all while Yamcha’s frustration grew. The younger fighter disengaged, sweating from his exertion while his opponent stood there in that same relaxed pose with his arms behind his back.

Yamcha switched stances to his more aggressive Wolf Style, before continuing his assault. Jackie continued to dodge, the same as before until Yamcha finally decided to pull out his ace in the hole.

“Wolf Fang Fist!” the younger man shouted as he began to barrage Jackie with alternating jabs. Jackie was actually blocking this time around, and with, each hit Yamcha grew more confident.

Then Jackie Chun sighed and deflected a blow to the side. Next, he thrusted his hand out, and Yamcha was sent flying out of the ring.

“You have much to learn, young man. But to get this far is an accomplishment all on its own,” The old man said, staring down at Yamcha.

How did he lose?

* * *

Giran roared and flexed his large muscles in celebration. His opponent, some kid named after a vegetable, was not even present. Everyone else was busy looking for the no show. It didn’t matter, Giran knew he won if the brat didn’t show up. Then the kid was dragged, half-awake from a nap from the looks of it.

How pathetic.

The winning contestant from the first round slapped the back of the kid’s head and said something to him before walking back to the waiting area. The cry to begin sounded out and Giran used his wings to rush forward to punch the yawning brat out of the ring. A split second before the punch connected, the boy glared at him and grabbed Giran’s arm. The brat then used Giran’s momentum to flip the dragon out of the ring into the grass.

He had lost to a kid… that he was three times the size of…

He was going to need a drink after this.


	8. The Tournament Ends

In the cold darkness of a generic bad guy office, a red-haired man with a generic bad guy eye patch and generic bad guy suit sat behind a generic bad guy desk, his short legs poking off his chair. The door, stationed at the opposite end of the room, opened up and the lights flicked on. A dark-skinned man, wearing a suit similar to the other, walked in with a stack of papers.

“The budget reports you asked for,” The black man said. “Although it may be best to read them in the light.”

“I was resting,” the shorter man excused. “Set them on my desk, Officer Black.” The second man, now identified as Black (whether or not this referred to his skin color has yet to be seen). Black nodded before complying with the instructions of his superior. “Report on our ground forces.”

“General Blue is having trouble capturing the asset due to “lack of geographic information” and has requested for more men, all males, to be sent to reinforce his battalion.”

“Tell him to quit killing people for picking their damn nose and he would have the men. Next.”

“Both Colonel Violet and Colonel Silver believe that they are close to locating it.”

“Belief won’t get us what we’re after, tell them to report once they find something. Next!”

“There’s a report from the Jingle Village camp that General Burgundy assures that is nothing to worry about,” Black responded. “Two escapees, a girl, and a doctor, I’m assured they will be dealt with along with the security oversight. Shall I get the General, Commander?”

“Don’t bother,” the Commander responded. “Inform Captain White he’s in charge and to retire Burgundy.”

“It will be done,” Black said before bowing and turning to leave out the door, then stopped. “The doctor wants to speak to you about capturing someone who would help with the location of-”

“Tell him it’s approved,” the commander interrupted.

“We are to get the Dragon Balls at any cost,” he finished.

* * *

Chi-Chi and Raditz stared each other down from opposite ends of the ring. Well, it was more like Chi-Chi stared Raditz down while he stood there disinterested. His arms were holding each other on his chest while the princess of Mt. Fry-Pan held her stance as tight as she could. She struck fast so Raditz wouldn’t have a chance to block as he did with Krillin. Raditz moved out of the way of Chi-Chi’s attack. Each kick, punch, and jab thrown at Raditz was met with air and space. 

She was relentless in her assault and her speed was nothing to scoff at, yet his skill was leagues above Chi-Chi’s, and as this one-sided battle continued the princesses anger climbed. And it was this very rage that caused her to throw herself at her opponent. A simple sidestep from said opponent and the female fight was sent out of the arena.

The fight was over, and the winner was Raditz. 

Chi-Chi watched as Raditz simply glanced at her, sighed, and walked off the stage. Angry tears stung her eyes at her failure. Hiding her face in her arm, she ran through the contestant building past those in there and out into the temple ground. She ran away from her failure into the crowded area in front of the temple. Chi-Chi collapsed on her knees and hands as the tears spilled. 

She was being childish and she knew it, yet that only served to make the rage at herself worse. It was stupid to think she ever had a chance at impressing anyone. Stupid to believe that she could win. Stupid to think-

“Are you alright?” A voice, one that croaked with age, asked.

Through the tears, Chi-Chi forced herself to look up at the source of the voice: the man who was supposed to fight Kakarot, Jackie Chun.

“Leave me alone…” Chi-Chi muttered once her breathing was stable. Jackie hummed before pulling out a tissue and handing it to the girl. “Why…?” The girl sniffed even as she accepted the tissue. “Won’t you be disqualified if you don’t show up?”

“Because I’ve seen too many give up after failing this far ahead,” the older man solemnly said. “I don’t suppose you need help getting back?” Jackie extended his hand towards the girl.

“Thank you,” Chi-Chi said as she took his hand and pulled herself up with new resolve.

She  _ will _ prove herself.

* * *

“Guys, please,” the announcer pleaded with the Saiyan brothers. “It doesn’t even have to be anything real, just something so we can have a winner.”

“But I didn’t earn it, Jackie Chun just didn’t show up,” Kakarot responded. “How’s it any different than me?”

“Because it’s been ten minutes since anyone’s seen him,” the announcer explained before turning to Raditz. “Look, could you talk some sense into him?”

Raditz scoffed at the request. “Kakarot’s right, he didn’t even fight and I’m not going to accept victory for a battle that didn’t happen.”

Breathing out a sigh of frustration and throwing up his hands, the announcer went out of the room mumbling something about ‘Weird ass twelve-year-olds.’ The two brothers were left alone to their own devices.

So they stood there, in silence, with nothing to do. Raditz leaned back on a wall and pretended to sleep while Kakarot paced around the waiting room on his own. With nothing left to pierce the silence, the younger Saiyan was left alone with his thoughts, more specifically the ones relating to the previous fight. Chi-Chi had lost, which sucked because he wanted to fight her. There was also Raditz who was kinda harsh to the princess. It wasn’t that Raditz didn’t let Chi-Chi hit him, she was slow for some reason. It was that Raditz didn’t even notice her, or at least didn’t act like it. 

Maybe it was because Raditz respected strength and Chi-Chi hadn’t earned it yet?

But she got this far… 

The two Saiyans were drawn out of their thoughts by the announcer walking back into the waiting room.

“So we can’t give you any money, but we can claim a tie between you three, please say that works,” the announcer said. The two brothers thought this over for a bit before they went to agree.

Then the wall exploded with a robot flying through it.

* * *

Bulma could remember every time she’d been kidnapped. Once when she was two, twice when she was six, and Pilaf’s.

And now, in the arms of a metal disk with tentacles that were currently wrapped around her. The logical part of her mind was taking note of the Red Ribbon Army symbol on it.

The primal, more emotional part, was screaming. Fear clouded her rational thought as the machine that held her slithered and constricted around her form. Bulma screamed as she was thrashed around by her captor.

Suddenly, with a screeching of metal, she was dropped to the ground. The blue-haired lady grunted in pain when her body hit the ground, then pushed herself up. 

Floating above her was Raditz, the broken shell of a robot held in his hand.

“Pathetic,” the Saiyan muttered before casting the husk aside. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Bulma said. The Saiyan floated down to meet his blue-haired companion. 

“Good…”

“Very… Where’s Kakarot?”

“Dealing with his robot,” Raditz replied. “Gohan’s with him.” 

“You could’ve caught me.”

* * *

Kakarot watched as Bulma and Raditz ran up to him and Gohan, the blue-haired girl having the elder Saiyan dragging a crumpled robot behind him.

“Let me see,” Bulma ordered, nudging Kakarot out of the way. “Just want to make sure of something,” she mumbled. Bulma grabbed two shards of the separate machines and compared them together, frowning when she did so.

Starring from the two pieces of metal, like four eyes, was two sideways red hourglasses with two white ‘R’s on each one.

**Author's Note:**

> The discord’s you may find me on:  
https://discord.gg/y5chZWQUuj  
https://discord.gg/2bw6ZEUJqr


End file.
